Kerala Gold smuggling: ED moves SC to transfer case to K'taka; Swapna Suresh welcomes move

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on July 20 moved the Supreme Court of India seeking the transfer of the Kerala gold smuggling case from Kerala to Karnataka. The federal agency's Kochi Zone Assistant Director has asked the apex court to move the case to a Bengaluru court.

The prime accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case, Swapna Suresh, has welcomed the move and said that the case could be influenced in Kerala. She also asserted that she is cooperating in the probe.

"I did not request anybody. This is ED that has taken such an initiative. I'm really happy about it because the head of the state can do many manipulations in Kerala. The case can be influenced here so when it goes outside the state I have hope. I have full trust in ED and cooperating with the investigation," Suresh said while speaking to the media.

On July 8, Suresh had alleged that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was "harassing" her because she is trying to bring the truth out. 

Kerala Gold smuggling case

At the Thiruvananthapuram Airport on July 5, 2020, customs officers confiscated 30 kilograms of gold worth Rs 15 crore from a diplomatic shipment addressed to a person in the UAE Consulate. In this case, Sarith PS, who worked in the UAE Consulate, was taken into custody. Swapna Suresh, a former employee of the consulate and then principal secretary of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, M Sivasankar were subsequently detained in connection with this matter. Suresh was booked and arrested in cases filed by the Customs, ED and the state police.

After securing bail in all cases and getting her detention under the COFEPOSA quashed, she walked free on November 6, 2021. According to the chargesheet, the NIA said that between November 2019 and June 2020, the accused persons raised funds and smuggled 167 kg of gold using import shipments addressed to diplomats at the UAE Consulate General in Thiruvananthapuram. It further stated that the principal suspect intended to transport more gold from nations like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia.

Image: PTI