In a significant development in the Kerala gold smuggling case, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a lookout notice against Faisal Fareed, one of the key accused in the case. Faisal, who is the third accused in the case, is believed to be in the United Arab Emirates.
It was on the request of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that the MHA issued the lookout notice against the accused, reports the Times of India. The NIA has also reportedly sought Interpol to issue a blue corner notice against Faisal. A blue corner notice is issued to gather additional information about a suspect’s identity, location or activities related to a crime. The NIA court in Kochi had earlier issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Faisal.
Faisal, a Thrissur native, allegedly helped smuggle 30 kg gold in a supposed consular bag from UAE to Kerala. He reportedly owns a provision store in Dubai.
Faisal’s name first surfaced in the case after the arrest of first accused, PS Sarith, who in his statements to NIA disclosed the alleged role of Faisal in smuggling the gold.
NIA started a parallel investigation in the case, alleging that the smuggled gold could be used for funding terrorism in India.
Meanwhile, the Customs Department, which seized the gold from the International Airport in Thiruvananthapuram, recorded the arrest of three more persons in the case.
According to TOI, Malappuram native Abdu P T and Kozhikode natives Jifsal CV and Muhammed Abdu Shameem are allegedly the middlemen who find financiers for the smuggled gold.
The arrested men are reportedly linked to the racket through Rameez and Mohammad Anwar, who were earlier arrested in the case. While Rameez is accused of being a distributor in the racket, Anwar is allegedly one of the investors in the smuggled gold.
With the arrest of three more persons on Saturday, a total of 14 persons have so far been nabbed in the case, including three key accused: PS Sarith, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair. All three accused are in NIA custody.
Watch gold smuggled from UAE to Kerala: