The National Investigation Agency probing the Kerala gold smuggling case told a special court in Kochi that it suspects that the accused have links to Dawood Ibrahim's D-Company.

NIA said that accused Ramees KT and Sharafudheen had travelled to Tanzania and visited shops in the African country where guns are sold. In Tanzania, Rameez attempted to procure a licence for the diamond business. He later smuggled gold to the UAE.

"From the UAE, he brought gold to Kerala. Tanzania and Dubai are the main places where the D-company is active. In fact, D-company's affairs in Tanzania are handled by a south Indian named Firoz Oasis. We suspect Rameez's links with D-company. Rameez was caught by the Customs in November 2019 for smuggling 13 .22 mm bore rifles. This happened when the gold smuggling was taking place," the NIA said.

The NIA informed the court that they had also retrieved a photo of the accused Sharafudheen holding a rifle in Tanzania.

The matter had come to light after 30 kg gold worth Rs 14.82 crores smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage was busted by the Customs in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5.