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Swapna Suresh a woman associated with Consulate General Office, has moved to the Kerala High Court seeking anticipatory bail, in the apprehension of arrest by Custom Department in the case of smuggling of 30 Kg of Gold through diplomatic cargo dispatched to UAE consulate at Thiruvananthapuram.
She has denied any connection with the smuggling of gold, which has started political controversy in the state.
She stated in the application that she was working at the consulate office from 2016 until her resignation in September 2019 as Executive Secretary, and on their request of her assistance, because of her experience at the job, she was assisting the work-on-request basis for them.
Due to the corona virus outbreak, the consulate general has flown back to UAE and Mr. Rashid Khamis Al Sheimelli, an admin officer was acting as charge of consulate, and he has instructed her, on 30 June’ 2020, to check with customs regarding the delivery of a package. So, she acted accordingly and contacted Assistant Commissioner of Customs to check the status of delivery.
After that it was found that the 30 Kg of gold was hidden in the package. Since UAE general consulate claimed that only food articles were meant to be in the package, customs conducted a raid at the house of Mr. Sarith, Public Relations Officer, and later took him into custody.
She claimed that she had contacted the custom officer only on the orders of the General Consulate and that she has no connection and involvement in the smuggling of gold.
She also said the she belongs to a respectable family with no criminal antecedents, and that a media trial is going against her, in which media is using her photos in violation of her right to privacy.
She also highlighted that she has a ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ issued by the UAE Consulate, commending her service.
Finally, she pleaded that she has got nothing to disclose to the investigating officer and investigating officer has nothing to be elicited from her. Hence, her custodial interrogation in connection with the said incident is unnecessary.
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