Prime accused gets bail in Kerala gold smuggling case
Kerala High Court granted bail to prime accused Swapna Suresh on Tuesday in Kerala Gold Smuggling Case registered by National Investigation Agency (NIA) under UAPA.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala High Court granted bail to prime accused Swapna Suresh on Tuesday in Kerala Gold Smuggling Case registered by National Investigation Agency (NIA) under UAPA.
The bail was granted to her on a Rs 25 Lakhs bail bond and two solvent sureties.
After the seizure of 30 kg gold hidden in bathroom fittings in one of the consignments camouflaged as diplomatic baggage of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) consulate in Thiruvananthapuram the gold smuggling case came to light in July 2020.
The case was later handed over to the NIA and it arrested Swapna Suresh and her accomplice Sandeep Nair from their hideout in Bengaluru.
Swapna Suresh had claimed that she was only acting on behalf of the attaché Rashid Khamis Al Sheimeili who left India on July 16 after he was recalled by the UAE government once the case drew the national limelight.
Last month, the Kerala customs department filed a charge sheet in the gold smuggling case, stating that 169 kg of precious metal was smuggled into the country on multiple occasions with the connivance of some officials of the UAE consulate in the state capital.
