BENGALURU/KOCHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday evening detained Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, the key suspects in the Kerala gold smuggling case, from a hotel in Koramangala in Bengaluru, top sources told The New Sunday Express. They had managed to evade investigators ever since 30kg gold, being smuggled as part of a diplomatic consignment, was seized at Thiruvananthapuram airport on July 5.
Swapna’s minor daughter and another minor, who had accompanied the suspects, were also reportedly present at the time of the duo’s detention. “Swapna and Sandeep are being questioned by the NIA in Bengaluru and they will be arrested in due course. After arrest, they will be taken to Kerala and produced before the special court there,” said an officer.
According to highly placed sources, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair had reportedly travelled to Bengaluru in a private car along with her husband Jagmohan, their minor daughter and another child. A former employee of the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, Swapna is a key suspect in the gold smuggling bid and was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act after NIA took over the investigation. According to sources, an investigation into close contacts and travel history of Sandeep led to a search for the duo in Bengaluru. Both will be brought to Kochi after obtaining a transit warrant on Sunday. “We have detained them. More details will be received following an interrogation which is underway,” a senior NIA official in Kochi said.
A customs officer said the duo could not have escaped to Karnataka without “some help”. “It is surprising to know that they were found in Bengaluru. With Covid-19 restrictions in place, we did not expect them to move out of Kerala. Now, we will wait till NIA procedures are over so that we can take them into our custody for interrogation and collecting evidence,” he said.The counsel for NIA and the Centre had told the Kerala high court that Swapna had criminal antecedents and was “involved” in arranging diplomatic papers for smuggling of over 30kg of gold which was seized by the customs early this week in Thiruvananthpuram.