Gold smuggling case: Sivasankar's custody extended till November 12

Kochi: A special court here on Wednesday extended by one more day the ED’s custody of M Sivasankar, former principal secretary to the Chief Minister, arrested in connection with the alleged money laundering in the Kerala gold smuggling case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) moved an application in the Special PMLA court here, seeking one more day custody of Sivasankar to investigate in connection with the case as his custody period ended today. Considering the plea, the court extended by one more day the ED custody of the suspended IAS officer.

Last week, the court had extended by six more days the custody of Sivasankar to probe details of communication between him and Swapna Suresh, prime accused in the sensational gold smuggling case. Sivasankar, arrested by the agency on October 28, was earlier sent to seven day custody of the ED.

The ED, probing the money trail in the gold smuggling case, has alleged multiple offences against Sivasankar.

The National Investigation Agency, Customs and the ED are conducting separate investigations into the seizure of gold worth nearly Rs 15 crore from a “diplomatic baggage” of UAE Consulate at Thiruvananthapuram airport on July 5.