Bengaluru: Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of CPI(M)’s Kerala state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, has come under the Enforcement Directorate’s radar, with investigating agencies claiming to have found evidence linking him to the recent Kerala gold smuggling racket and the Bengaluru drug seizure case.
Bineesh was interrogated for over 11 hours by the Enforcement Directorate in Kochi for his alleged links to Mohammed Anoop, an alleged drug peddler who is an accused in both cases. His interrogation, which began Wednesday, ended at midnight.
ED sources told ThePrint that the agency is probing Bineesh’s involvement in providing financial assistance to Anoop. According to the ED, Bineesh was issued summons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after the Narcotics Control Bureau in Bengaluru also established his close links with several of the accused in the drug case.
An ED officer said three companies, in which Bineesh is a partner, are under scrutiny. “Two of these companies have been frozen by the Registrar of Companies for not submitting their annual reports since 2015,” the source said.
The ED had in a statement to court alleged that Anoop, an accused in the Bengaluru drug trafficking case, assisted Swapna Suresh, one of the prime accused in the gold smuggling racket.
On 2 September, Muslim Youth League leader P.K. Firoz alleged that Bineesh had close links with Swapna, who was detained in Bengaluru on 10 June. “This was the same day that Bineesh contacted Anoop. Their links should be taken into account,” alleged Firoz.
Bineesh had responded to the allegations, calling them baseless.
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Kerala gold smuggling racket
The Kerala gold smuggling racket hit headlines on 5 July when customs officials at the Thiruvananthapuram airport intercepted diplomatic cargo, meant for the UAE consulate office, and found 30 kg of gold worth Rs 13.5 crore that was allegedly being smuggled.
The customs police first arrested Sarith Kumar from the UAE consulate but he later revealed the name of Swapna Suresh, a former employee at the consulate who was also allegedly involved in smuggling gold.
On 10 July, the case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as it pertains to the alleged smuggling of large quantities of gold into India, which can pose a threat to economic stability and national security.
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) has been invoked in the case as agencies allege the proceeds of the crime could be meant for financing terrorism in India.
The NIA has arraigned 25 accused, of whom 20 have been arrested so far. They include main accused Swapna Suresh and Sarith Kumar. Senior IAS officer M. Sivasankar, who was the principal secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, was also removed due to his alleged links to Suresh.
The Bengaluru drugs case
The Bengaluru drugs case, or Sandalwood scandal, refers to a drug racket allegedly unearthed in the Kannada film industry. It came to light when the Bureau (NCB) raided a few upscale residential gated communities in Bengaluru on 21 August. During the search, the agency seized LSD, MDM, ecstasy and cannabis worth Rs 1.25 crore.
Since then, the police have named noted actors in Sandalwood (the name given to the Kannada film industry) accusing them of procuring and distributing contraband and synthetic drugs.
They have so far arrested 13 persons in the case, including prominent actresses Sanjjanaa Galrani, who starred of 2006 hit Ganda Hendathi that was a Kannada remake of Anurag Basu’s 2004 Hindi hit Murder, and Ragini Dwivedi, a former Miss India runner-up.
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