During the raids carried out by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Kerala on December 5 in connection with the gold smuggling case, a secret chamber was found. In accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002, searches were carried out at the locations of Malabar Jewellery and Fine Gold in Malappuram, Atlas Gold Super Markets Private Limited in Kozhikode, and Aboobacker Pazhedath’s residence in Malappuram.
The discovery of a hidden chamber used to store gold jewellery during searches led to the recovery and seizure of 5.058 kg of gold jewellery valued at Rs 2.51 and Rs 3.79 lakh in cash.
On the basis of a FIR filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Kochi under sections 16, 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, a case was previously opened in the Kerala gold smuggling case. The gold in question, 30.245 kg, was found by customs officials at Trivandrum International Airport while it was disguised as diplomatic luggage from the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.
The accused, Sarith PS, Swapna Prabha Suresh, and Sandeep Nair, were arrested by the ED from August 5 to August 17, 2020 after being apprehended on July 22, 2020.
A complaint under section 45 of the PMLA was made against the three accused on October 6 based on the results of the investigation.
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