Swapna and Saritha had met Faisal in Dubai

KOCHI: The first accused in the diplomatic gold smuggling case Sarith on Saturday admitted that both Swapna and he himself had held discussions with third accused Faisal Fareed in Dubai. He also revealed to the investigating officials that Faisal had recently visited Kerala. With the involvement of a mafia threatening national security becoming more evident, the NIA team might soon travel to Dubai for further investigation.

On Saturday, Sarith was first questioned by a special team led by Kochi Customs commissioner Sumit Kumar. Following this, he was interrogated by NIA ASP Shoukath Ali. The NIA also collected necessary information from the Customs headquarters as well. It is believed that it was Faisal who influenced a staff working under the UAE customs forwarding agent to smuggle gold through diplomatic baggage.