Prime Accused In Kerala Gold Smuggling Case, Swapna Suresh Released From Jail Today

Swapna Suresh released: After spending 16 months in jail as the prime accused in the Kerala Gold Smuggling case,  Swapna Suresh was released from jail on November 6. Suresh, along with other accused in the case wad granted bail on November 2 by the High Court of Kerala.

The case against Swapna Suresh was registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) last year. On November 2, she was granted bail with Rs. 25 lakh bail bond assurance and two solvent sureties, which is issued by the District Magistrate based on the value of the property to assure that the accused is financially capable to pay the bail bond.

The decision was made by the Kerala High Court's division bench judge K Vinod Chandran and judge C Jayachandran. The appeal for the bail was filed by Suresh and co-accused Sarith PS.

During the hearing, Suresh's lawyer had argued, "The offence alleged against them was gold smuggling while UAPA predominately deals with the offence of counterfeiting high-quality currency. The prosecution case even if proved, only amounts to an offence of gold smuggling, which will come under the customs act and not UAPA. It is only a Customs offence at the worst. And for the customs offence, the petitions have already been granted bail."

Seven other accused who were also granted bail included Sarith PS, Mohammed Shafi P, Jalal AM, Rabins Hameed, Ramees KT etc.

Swapna Suresh was arrested by NIA on July 11, 2020, and had been under judicial custody ever since. The case became the centre stage for a long time as the name of Kerala's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also cropped up in it.

The case was about the smuggling of gold through diplomatic channels and it only came to light after 30 kilograms of gold, which was worth Rs 14.82 crore, was caught by the customs department in Thiruvananthapuram while it was getting smuggled as diplomatic baggage.

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