In an explosive revelation, Kerala gold scam accused Swapna Suresh has informed the authorities that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan helped the UAE consulate in fleeing a terrorist.

As per the reports, on July 4, 2017, a UAE national was caught using a Thuraya satellite phone that is restricted in India, by the CISF Cochin airport authorities. Swapna asserted that she received a call from representatives of the UAE Consulate requesting a meeting with the Chief Minister.

Swapna, in her statement, said, “On that day, I got a call from the UAE Consulate officials (in the state capital city) asking me to speak to Vijayan on this case. So I called his secretary M. Sivasankar and informed him about it and he said, he will speak to Vijayan. In 5-10 minutes, I got a call from Sivasankar asking me to send an official to the police station to get a written affidavit. I was asked to give a similar affidavit to the Consulate and did the same with the concern and consent from Shivasankar.”

After the accused filed the affidavit, the police released him, and this case was not further investigated, she added.

Swapna further added that the UAE national, who was born in Egypt, arrived in Kerala on June 30 and was apprehended by the Central Industrial Security Force on July 4. She said, “The pieces of evidence were tampered with and even some of them were destroyed by the National Investigation Agency.”

“The CM supports any illegal terrorist activity for the benefit of his daughter’s interests,” claims Swapna.

“He initially claimed to not know me, then claimed to have seen me, and finally claimed that I had come to his residence with representatives from the UAE Consulate. Please ask him to speak up and address everything that has been brought up. The next time you see Vijayan, how extensively he abused his office, Suresh said in a jibe at the media,” Swapna said.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs confiscated 30 kilograms of 24-karat gold worth Rs 14.82 crore on July 5, 2020, from a diplomatic suitcase that was headed for the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram. After a preliminary investigation revealed that M Sivasankar had connections to Swapna Suresh, one of the suspects in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) investigation, he was placed on administrative leave and removed from his position as Pinarayi Vijayan’s principal secretary in Kerala.

In response to an anonymous tip, customs officers at Trivandrum International Airport detained diplomatic luggage from Dubai on June 30, 2020, on the grounds of possible smuggling. It was impossible to open the bag because it was covered by diplomatic immunity, especially after receiving a call purporting to be from the secretary of the consulate general of the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram asking the Customs to release the luggage.

On July 5, 2020, the bag was opened in front of the consulate official whose name was on the luggage and a senior officer from the high commissioner’s office in Delhi to expose the 30 kilograms or more of illegal gold. The gold was tucked away in luggage filled with toilet supplies. The initial inquiry about the call was directed to Swapna Suresh, a former employee of the UAE consulate and state IT consulate, after further investigation.

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