Kerala gold smuggling case: ED summons Swapna Suresh, Sarith, Sandeep to appear before its Kochi office today

The Enforcement Directorate has issued notice to the trio in connection with the Kerala gold smuggling case who are required to appear before its Kochi office for interrogation on Monday.

Kochi (Kerala):The Enforcement Directorate has issued a summons to the gold smuggling case accused to appear before its Kochi office for interrogation on Monday. The notice has been sent to Swapna Suresh, Sarith PS, and Sandeep Nair - accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case. They have been have been summoned by the ED to appear before its Kochi office for interrogation.

The Kerala gold smuggling case pertains to the smuggling of gold in the state through diplomatic channels. 30 kg of gold worth Rs 14.82 crore was smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage. The smuggling was busted by the customs department in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5, 2019.

Prime suspect Swapna Suresh, in October last year accused three top CPI(M) leaders of sexual misconduct. According to Swapna, two leaders, former State Minister and incumbent MLA Kadakampally Surendran and former Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan made direct moves and sent lewd messages to her.

Swapna also accused former Finance Minister Thomas Isaac saying he invited her to the picturesque tourist hill station in Munnar. The smuggling was busted by the customs department in Thiruvananthapuram. The ED had claimed that the seizure was only the tip of the iceberg and 21 such consignments of gold were smuggled into India, worth more than Rs 80 crore.

The case was later taken over by the National Investigation Agency, which registered a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The ED subsequently registered a case based on the NIA case.