Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, two of the accused in the sensational gold smuggling of Kerala have been arrested from Bengaluru by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The two accused wil be produced in the NIA special court in Kochi tomorrow.
The two had been absconding ever since the gold smuggling was uncovered at the Thiruvananthapuram airport last weekend.
The case which has been rocking the state with many discussions and protests against the state government, has been handed over to the NIA last Friday.
Only two days ago, an audio clipping, purportedly of Swapna, had emerged on the television news channel Twenty Four, where she claimed she is innocent but is ready for any investigation.
Swapna's name cropping up in the case after the arrest of another accused, Sarith, created many controversies, following allegations of her connections with the UAE consulate and former Kerala IT Secretary M Sivasankar.
On Friday, the case was taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and a First Information Report was registered under several provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The case was registered under UAPA following allegations that those involved in the gold smuggling case were ‘raising funds for terrorist activities’ and had links to the Islamic State.
The FIR names four persons as accused - namely Swapna Suresh, Sandeep Nair, PS Sarith and Fazil Fareed.
The Central government also moved the Kerala High Court on Friday against the anticipatory bail plea submitted by Swapna. The central government counsel in his submission said that the anticipatory bail plea by Swapna was no longer maintainable as the NIA had taken over investigations and only a special court could hear the plea.