Kerala gold smuggling case: HC defers bail pleas of Swapna Suresh in NIA probe to July 29

The Kerala High Court on Friday deferred the infamous gold smuggling case and declared that it will hear the bail pleas of the accused, including Swapna Suresh on 29 July. 

NIA calls it 'Act of terrorism'

The order came into action after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) disagreed to provide any relief to the accused by stating that they had committed an "act of terrorism" by smuggling gold into India from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Evidence on transactions to come from UAE

It is reported that the investigating agency has informed the court that a request under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) has been sent to UAE for obtaining evidence of the transactions that occurred there, especially through reverse hawala and purchase of smuggled gold.

The NIA further maintained before the bench of Justices K Vinod Chandran and Ziyad Rahman A A that it has found that the accused Swapna Suresh, Sarith PS, and others had jointly committed the act of terrorism, knowingly, that smuggling of gold into India in large quantity would threaten the security of the country and will destabilize the Indian economy while damaging friendly relations with UAE.

It is being asserted that the release of the accused, including Swapna Suresh, on bail would seriously hamper the ongoing investigation in the case as they could tamper with the evidence and influence the witnesses.

The accused had raised funds and smuggled gold: NIA

The NIA stated that the accused had conspired, recruited people, and formed a terrorist group that raised funds and smuggled around 167 kg of gold from UAE from November 2019 to June 2020, through import cargo addressed to the diplomats at the Consulate General of UAE at Thiruvananthapuram.

It is being asserted that the release of the accused, including Swapna Suresh, on bail would seriously hamper the ongoing investigation in the case as they could tamper with the evidence and influence the witnesses.

Meanwhile, Swapna Suresh had challenged the verdict of the Special NIA Court which had dismissed her bail plea earlier. According to the petition the allegations levelled against the petitioner would not attract any offence under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and that the charge sheet does not disclose sufficient material evidence to connect her with the alleged gold smuggling. In her plea, Suresh has contended that she was falsely implicated in it and she has been granted bail in the customs and PMLA cases related to the very same alleged criminal activity of gold smuggling.

Notably, customs officials on July 5, 2020, had seized a total of 30 kg of gold worth Rs.15 crore at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic cargo addressed to a person in the UAE Consulate. Sarith PS who worked at the UAE Consulate was apprehended in this regard. Subsequently, Swapna Suresh, an ex-Consulate employee working as the manager of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited, and M Sivasankar, the ex-Principal Secretary to Kerala CM were also arrested in this case.

Back in January 2020, the National Investigation Agency had filed a charge sheet before the Special Court claiming that the conspiracy started in June 2019. The agency alleged that the accused had raised funds and smuggled 167 kg of gold between November 2019 and June 2020 through the import cargo addressed to diplomats at the Consulate General of UAE in Thiruvananthapuram. Furthermore, it added that the main accused had planned to smuggle more gold from countries such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia.