Defendant presented a wedding photo of Swapna in the court claiming that she was wearing 5 kilograms (625 pawans) of gold jewelry at the time of her wedding. The image was produced to argue that the discovery of 1 kg of gold jewelery in the bank locker of Swapna in Thiruvananthapuram was not unusual. The source of the money found in the bank account and locker could be revealed.
The NIA has said that Swapna Suresh, accused in a gold smuggling case, was only acquainted with the Chief Minister but had a huge influence in his office. The inquiry team quoted Swapna as saying that he had a positive influence on the UAE consulate as well and that M Shivashankar, the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, was a ‘mentor’ who regularly gave advice.
Customs also told the court that Swapna had a huge impact on the corridors of power and the police and that it had intimidated many with it, Asst. Solicitor General P. Vijayakumar clarified.
The court noted that it was a serious matter for the accused to know that gold smuggling would affect the financial security of the country. It was orally observed that it was clear from the statements that the motives of the co-defendants were also known. The NIA also reported that he was receiving a salary of around Rs. 74,000 a month from the consulate while receiving a salary of more than Rs 1 lakh in the space park.
