Swapna Suresh, accused in Kerala gold smuggling case approaches HC seeking bail

Prime accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case, Swapna Suresh on Monday approached the Kerala High Court seeking bail in the case registered by the National Investigative Agency.

She has challenged the verdict of the NIA Court dismissing the bail plea of her earlier.

On March 28 Swapna Suresh had revealed that the State Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan used to call her to his flat with "personal dirty intentions", according to a document submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Kerala High Court.

She had said, "Sreeramakrishnan had called me to the flat in Marutham apartment and told me that it was his hideout. I went there along with Sarith (another accused in the gold smuggling case) to meet him. He told me about the flat's real ownership to convince me to feel safe as he used to call me there with some personal dirty intentions."

"As I didn't agree to his personal interests, the role offered to me in the Middle East College was also dropped. He always kept trying to get close to me as he needed the help of consul-general for his personal affairs in the UAE," she had alleged further in her affidavit.

Swapna had also given this statement before the ED Deputy Director, Kochi, on December 16, 2020, at Women's Jail in Attakulangara, Thiruvananthapuram.

Swapna had further said, "I met him for the first time at one of the functions of the UAE Consulate, Thiruvananthapuram. He took my mobile number and used to send WhatsApp messages and call me up frequently. On several occasions, he invited me to his official residence as well."

The Kerala gold smuggling case pertains to the smuggling of gold in the state through diplomatic channels. It had come to light after 30 kg gold worth Rs 14.82 crore smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage was busted by the customs department in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5, 2019.

It is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, National Investigative Agency (NIA) and the customs department.

During the probe of the Kerala gold smuggling case, the dollar smuggling case also came to light. The case pertains to the smuggling of USD 1.9 lakh by UAE Consulate employee and Egyptian national Khalid Ali Shoukry through the Thiruvananthapuram airport in August 2019.

( With inputs from ANI )