KOCHI: The customs, probing the seizure of 2.33kg of gold at Karipur airport followed by a road accident which claimed five lives, on Tuesday informed a court here that the gold smuggling gangs in Kannur had been receiving patronage of Kodi Suni and Mohammad Shafi, convicts in the RMP leader TP Chandrashekaran’s murder.
The customs made the submission at the Ernakulam Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Economic Offence) Court while seeking the custody extension of accused Arjun Ayanki. However, the court dismissed the custody extension plea after hearing the agency and the defence but he would remain in judicial remand. Arjun was sent to the customs custody for seven days which expired on Tuesday.
According to the customs, first accused Muhammad Shafeeque who was intercepted with the gold on June 21 at the airport, in his voluntary statement, deposed that Arjun had informed him that he had the backing and protection of N K Sunil Kumar, alias Kodi Suni, and Mohammad Shafi, alias Shaffikka, (who are undergoing imprisonment in a murder case) and that Shafeeque would be offered all protection from rival gangs.
“Intelligence gathered reveals that gold smuggling gangs operating from Kannur received patronage from Kodi Suni and Shafi. The investigation has revealed that the gangs project themselves as supporters of a political party through social media and thus lure youth to their fold and use them for anti-social activities for which they source their funds through smuggling activities. Considering the negative impact these gangs have on youngsters, which is a social menace, the activities of these persons need to be investigated further and they need to be interrogated together to elicit further evidence,” the customs stated in the petition.
When Arjun was produced at the court on expiry on his custody, the magistrate asked him whether he was physically or mentally tortured by the officials. To this, he said he was slapped by officials at the customs superintendent’s room on the second day of his custody. His submission was recorded by the court. The court said he should not give a false submission as CCTV cameras at the customs office will be checked.
After hearing Arjun, the court considered the petition filed by the customs seeking an extension of his custody for seven more days. The customs claimed that he has to be questioned further to get evidence in the case.
However, defence counsel Manu Tom argued that the petition has not mentioned grounds for which the custody extension is required. The court refused Arjun’s custody extension, stating that the granted custody period of seven days was enough for custodial interrogation and evidence collection.
“The nature of the proposed investigation and the kind of evidence expected to be destroyed by the accused etc have not been stated in the affidavit. Therefore, I find that the application for further custody for seven days,is devoid of merit,” Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate C Deepu ordered.