THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The NIA that is investigating the Gold Smuggling case has said that they have not got any evidence to incriminate the chief minister or his office. “We have no evidence that would suffice for making the chief minister or his office the accused parties in the case,” the investigators reportedly told a private News Channel on Tuesday.

However, the gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh had connection with the chief minister’s office, according to the NIA. “She was the brain behind the gold smuggling and from the UAE consulate to the chief minister’s office, she could make inroads into almost all offices. Swapna is a feisty woman and she has a special ability to execute things,” the channel reported, quoting the NIA as saying.

“Swapna Suresh was able to build a close relationship with the chief minister and his former principal secretary Sivasankar. Though the case appears to be a corruption case, the matter will seriously affect the financial system of the country,” the NIA reportedly said.

The Gold smuggling team had smuggled gold worth Rs 500 crore over a period of one and a half year and we had taken over the case only after verifying the quantity of the smuggled gold. Swapna was arrested on July 24 and we would able to file the charge sheet within 180 days from the day of the arrest,” the NIA reportedly added.