Kerala gold smuggling case: NIA court extends judicial custody of 12 accused till Oct 8

A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Kochi on Friday extended the judicial custody of 12 accused persons till October 8, including Swapna Suresh, in the Kerala gold smuggling case. The 12 accused were produced before the court through video conferencing.

The court also rejected Swapna's bail petition. Prior to this, she had cited her health conditions for getting bail, but the court denied the same. The court also directed the prison authorities that, they should allow Swapna to meet her relatives in prison.

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Kerala gold smuggling case

On July 5, Customs officials seized 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 Kumar, who worked at the UAE Consulate was arrested in this regard. Reportedly, he told the Customs about the role of Swapna Suresh, working in Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited. The case took a political turn after photos with Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan surfaced. Following the backlash over her appointment, she was sacked by the state government. 

Apart from the Customs and the ED, the NIA has also registered an FIR in the gold smuggling case. Various sections of the UAPA were slapped against Sarith Kumar, Swapna Suresh, Fazil Fareed, Sandeep Nair, and others. The NIA has alleged that the smuggled gold was not used for jewellery purposes but for funding terror activities. On September 11, Jaleel was questioned by the ED in Kochi. 

(With ANI inputs)

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