The revelations made by P.S. Sarith and Swapna Suresh in the foreign currency smuggling case “are extremely sensitive and invite threat to their life,” according to Customs.
It was while seeking the extension of the remand of the accused that the agency revealed the sensitive nature of the statements given by the accused.
Sandeep and Swapna had made allegations against some foreign nationals who were involved in the case. The passport, travel details, location and duration of their stay in India and persons with whom they interacted while staying in India were being identified to assess the nature of visit and validate the claims made by them in the statement, the agency submitted before the Economic Offences Court, Ernakulam.
Swapna had made revelations implicating M. Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, in the currency smuggling case with strong linkages in the gold smuggling case. A few more electronic gadgets, which were not divulged by Sivasankar before the investigating agencies earlier, were retrieved in Thiruvananthapuram on December 2 and are yet to reach the Customs headquarters in Kochi.
These gadgets are to be analysed and the accused to be confronted with Sivasankar on the basis of evidences elicited from them. Some more individuals who were aware of/abetted the smuggling of foreign currency were to be summoned, interrogated and confronted with the other accused, the agency submitted.
The court allowed the extension of remand till December 8.
