THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Customs investigation into the gold smuggling is expected to shed light on the transnational connections and unholy ties of the racketeers, especially Swapna Suresh, former UAE Consulate staff. According to information accessed by TNIE, one Rashid Khamisalimusaiqri Al Shemile, a UAE citizen, sent the consignment to Kerala through the diplomatic channel. Swapna has personal relationship with him as per the inputs received by the Customs.
Though Sarith Kumar, former PRO of the UAE Consulate in the capital, was involved in delivering the consignments to the intended recipients, the entire racket was centred on Swapna. But even after their UAE Consulate days, they had been cooperating with each other. The Customs is in the process of extracting the details of their previous smuggling activities, a source said.
Swapna has had a dubious track record. The Crime Branch will soon submit a chargesheet against her in a fake sexual harassment case. The Crime Branch officials were not aware that she had been a IT department staffer till Monday. She had introduced herself to others as a former employee of the UAE Consulate and Air India SATS, a joint venture between Air India and Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) Ltd.
Crime Branch officials said they suspect she made up the case for someone in her previous office. Swapna was born and brought up in the UAE as her parents were well settled there. However, her parents got some serious illnesses and they shifted back to Thiruvananthapuram. That time, she had faced some financial difficulties and issues in personal life. During this time, she joined a travel agency and later joined Air India SATS. Soon after her involvement in foisting the fake sexual harassment case, she quit AISATS and joined the UAE Consulate.
Learning tricks of the trade
During her stint at AISATS and consulate, she got well versed in the operation of flights and diplomatic consignments. Customs officials believe that her acquaintance with the system had helped her use this channel for smuggling gold.