Thiruvananthapuram: Gold-smuggling accused Swapna Suresh has vowed to lay forth her side of events, three days after she walked out on bail in one of the most infamous cases that has rocked Kerala politics and embroiled the office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan this year.
"At the moment, my priority is to deal with the cases that I am entangled in. I promise you I will appear before the media along with my mother in Thiruvananthapuram. I will not run away from the media and I will speak out," she said to media in Kochi, as she went to meet her counsel.
Swapna Suresh, PS Sarith and Sandeep Nair are the three main accused in the gold-smuggling case where they are accused of abusing diplomatic channels to illegally ship in gold to India. Several agencies had probed the case involving the smuggling of 30kg of gold worth Rs 14.82 crore from diplomatic baggage at the air cargo centre of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in June 2020.
Swapna was housed at the women's jail in Attakulangara in Thiruvananthapuram district for 15 months before receiving bail in the UAPA case filed against her by the National Investigation Agency. She had refused to speak to the media after her release. The NIA had argued that the accused had knowingly committed a 'terrorist act' by smuggling in gold, threatening the security and economic stability of India.
Former Principal Secretary to the Kerala Chief Minister was also arrested in connection with the case.