Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the Kerala Gold Smuggling case, on Tuesday said that due to a prior medical appointment for tomorrow, she will not be able to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as summoned.
Speaking with ANI, Swapna said, "I have received an email saying that the ED has asked me to appear before the investing officer tomorrow morning, but because I have a pre-medical check-up appointment scheduled, I have sent an email requesting to reschedule the same on the 15th of this month."
"I will definitely appear before the ED on the morning of February 15," she added.
Earlier today, the ED had summoned Swapna and had asked her to appear before its Kochi office on Wednesday at 11 am.
She was directed to either appear in person or through an authorized representative.
The Kerala gold smuggling case pertains to the smuggling of gold in the state through diplomatic channels. It had come to light after 30 kg gold worth Rs 14.82 crore smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage was busted by the customs department in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5, 2019.
After spending 16 months behind bars, Swapna was released from jail in November last year.
The case is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, National Investigative Agency (NIA) and the customs department.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor