Smitten by the computer bug, S Sridharan, a Lok Sabha member from Madras, has emerged as the driving force behind a smuggling network that was bringing in the latest in computer hard disks and software.

The modus operandi of the network was simple and effective. It is alleged that the immunity enjoyed by the members of Parliament was used to smuggle expensive hard disks procured from operatives based in Hong Kong and Singapore into the country.

In his statement to custom officials seeking his detention under COFEPOSA (Foreign Currency Protection and Prevention of Smuggling Activity Act), Sridharan has reportedly stated that he had travelled to Singapore 4 times since 1991, twice this year alone.

Meanwhile, 2 people apprehended with the hard disks at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi have already confessed the MP's involvement. They have said that Sridharan had accompanied them twice to Singapore -- once on the way back, when they were carrying the hard disks.