swapna suresh Archives - The Gulf Indians

Kerala gold smuggling case: Customs wants digital evidence collected from key accused

The Gulf Indians — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 11:52:08 +0000

The customs department on September 4 submitted an application before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, seeking permission to interrogate Rameess KT, an accused in Kerala Gold Smuggling case.

The customs informed the court that they went to interrogate Ramees about his relation with Mohammed Anoop, who was earlier arrested by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Bengaluru drug case.

The cutoms also sought the permission to get the digital evidence collected from Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, the key accused in the case. The Customs in its petition filed at the NIA Court said some of the digital evidence collected by the NIA from accused Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair is vital for its probe.

The court after hearing the Customs sought the NIA opinion on the matter. The NIA will file a report in this regard next week.

The agency had seized around six digital devices including their mobile phones and laptops, after NIA arrested Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair from Bengaluru on July 11.

The contents of these digital devices were retrieved by C-DAC (Center for Development of Advanced Computing) in Thiruvananthapuram.

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Kerala gold smuggling case: NIA registers FIR

The Gulf Indians — Fri, 10 Jul 2020 11:40:34 +0000

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday registered a First Information Report (FIR) in the gold smuggling case a day after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) directed it to conduct a probe.

The FIR was registered against Sarith Kumar, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair and Fazil Fareed, the four persons allegedly involved in the case.

The case involved the smuggling of 30 kg of gold addressed to a Middle East consulate in Thiruvananthapuram via the Trivandrum airport.

The NIA has charged them with offenses under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act(UAPA). The sections deal with raising funds for terrorist acts and conspiracy for terrorist activities. The NIA will probe whether the gold smuggling was linked to activities that threaten national security.

According to the NIA, the money from the smuggled gold can be linked to be used for terrorist activities. It will be one of the first cases in the NIA’s history in which the agency is entrusted to probe gold smuggling activities.

Meanwhile, the customs which made the seizure has started the interrogation of Sarith at their office in Kochi. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Economic Offences) on Thursday granted custody of him till July 15. The NIA will produce him at the NIA court after July 15.

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Swapna key member of gold smuggling gang: Customs

The Gulf Indians — Fri, 10 Jul 2020 11:25:07 +0000

Swapna Suresh is a pivotal member of a gang engaged in smuggling gold, and that she has conspired and actively participated to facilitate the act of smuggling, according to the customs report submitted to the Kerala high court in the gold smuggling case on Juley 10.
The report was submitted in court while considering Swapna’s bail plea. The case will next be heard on July 14..
The seizure of 30 kg gold from a diplomatic consignment at the Trivandrum International Airport on Sunday has snowballed into a major political controversy in Kerala as the prime suspect, Swapna.
In an audio message on July 9, Swapna, who is on the run, said she had no role to play in the matter.
The Customs report states, “From the evidence gathered so far, it appears Swapna Suresh is a pivotal member of a gang engaged in smuggling of large quantities of gold to India by defrauding government agencies and customs department using the cover of diplomatic protection. And further she has conspired and actively participated to facilitate this act of smuggling.”
The report says that by 3.15 pm on July 5, Suresh had switched off her mobile phone and has been absconding since. Customs officers tried their best to serve her notice in all her know addresses.
The report says it is necessary to interrogate her in custody to unearth the correct facts.
“Additionally, involvement of higher government officials cannot be ruled out at this stage, which can only be unearthed if the investigation agency is permitted to interrogate Swapna,” it added.
The NIA has registered a case against Suresh as it is critical to national security and India’s ties with friendly states. The probe agency has also appealed that her bail application be dismissed.

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IAS officer M Sivasankar removed from IT secretary post

The Gulf Indians — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 13:02:59 +0000

IAS officer M Sivasankar has been removed from the post of IT Secretary in the backdrop of the gold smuggling controversy, where it is alleged that he had links with Swapna Suresh, a suspect in the case.

Earlier in the day, he was also removed from secretary to the chief minister after the opposition party hugely criticized the LDF government and demanded CBI probe in this matter. Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala had sent a letter to PM calling for the CBI probe.

Mohammed Y Safirulla will be appointed as the new IT Secretary. Meanwhile, Mir Mohammed who replaced Sivasankar as secretary to the chief minister will hold additional charge.

Swapna Suresh who was earlier employed in the IT department was being investigated in the seizure of 30 kg of gold smuggled through “diplomatic baggage” at the Thiruvanathapuram international airport.

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