A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will leave for Dubai after the Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday gave permission to the agency to extend its probe into the Kerala gold smuggling case to the United Arab Emirates.
The team led by an SP will question Faizal Fareed, the key accused in the case, and seek the help of Dubai police to get the custody of Rebinson, another suspect.
The sensational case has sparked off a political storm in the state with the opposition Congress and the Baratiya Janata Party demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan after allegations were raised against his office.
The chief minister's former principal secretary M. Sivasankar, who was also the IT secretary, has been questioned both by the NIA and by the Customs on multiple occasions over his alleged links with the accused. He was later removed from both the posts.
On Thursday, the NIA opposed the bail plea of Swapna Suresh, a key accused, in a Kochi court saying she had "good influence" in the top office of the state's administration.
In its submission before the NIA special court, the investigation agency said Swapna had received wage even after having resigned from the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.
Suresh along with co-accused Sandeep Nair were arrested from Bengaluru on July 11 by the NIA. So far, the agency has arrested 12 people in connection with the case related to smuggling of gold through diplomatic baggage addressed to the UAE consulate at Thiruvananthapuram.
Gold worth nearly Rs 15 crore was seized by the Customs at the airport in the state capital on July 5 and the NIA was entrusted with the probe after the state government asked the Centre to order an appropriate investigation.
