The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Mumbai has seized 9.31 Kg of gold in various forms including foreign-origin gold and 16.66 Kg of silver after they searched a melting facility at Zaveri Bazar, Mumbai. 4 persons including the melting facility operator and a recruiter who arranges for carriers and collects the smuggled gold for onward processing were also apprehended. On the basis of a specific intelligence that gold smuggled from Africa through Mumbai International Airport was being processed at a melting facility to remove the foreign markings and was being diverted to the local market, DRI team initiated action on 22nd April 2023.
On enquiry, it was revealed that the recruiter collects gold from many carriers from various African Nationals, gets it processed and hands it over to a buyer located nearby. A follow-up search was conducted at the office premises of the recruiter and $190000 was recovered which was handed over to him by the buyer as advance payment for smuggled gold. imultaneously, another team was dispatched to the office premises of the buyer for a search.
However, the buyer had fled before the officers reached. During the search, 351 grams of cut pieces of foreign-origin gold bars and 1818 grams of silver along with Rs. 1.92 Crores of cash were recovered and seized. 4 persons viz. 2 carriers, recruiter and melter admitted to being involved in the smuggling of gold into India and, hence, were arrested under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 and remanded to judicial custody.
Disclaimer: This press release is sourced from News On AIR, Prasar Bharti and Press Information Bureau India (PIB).
