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The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has seized sales proceeds from smuggled gold worth Rs 3.62 crore as well as Rs 2.95 crore cash and 2.1 kilograms of gold following a raid on a gold-melting facility and a jewellery shop, an official said on Thursday.
According to the DRI release, a total of 8 persons including 3 Indian nationals, 4 Kenyan women and 1 Tanzanian woman have been arrested. "Acting on specific intelligence, DRI searched the premises clandestinely being used for melting smuggled gold followed by a search at the premises of a jeweller who was the purchaser of the smuggled gold. During the searches, 2.1 Kg of gold smuggled into India, $100,000 foreign currency valued at Rs. 84.15 lakhs and Rs. 2.32 crores cash that are sale proceeds from smuggled gold, were seized from the gold melting facility and the jewellery shop in Mumbai," the DRI officials said. According to the official release, the owner cum operator of the melting facility for smuggled gold is a repeat offender who is wanted in other cases also. The DRI also said that further investigation revealed the involvement of African female nationals who used to smuggle gold into India. "Such smuggled gold is aggregated by a few aggregators who handed over the same to the owner cum operator of the smuggled gold melting facility in Mumbai. Keeping a strict vigil round the clock, the African nationals were located and searches were carried out at two Hotels in South Mumbai from where they conducted their business transactions," it said, adding that it resulted in the further recovery of foreign currency of $331600 valued at Rs 2, 78, 70,980 and Indian currency amounting to Rs 63, 07,500 which were sale proceeds from smuggled gold. Investigation revealed a nexus between African female nationals smuggling gold into India and the owner cum operator of the melting facility to divert the smuggled gold and receive cash in foreign and Indian currency. It also said that the aggregators used to collect the smuggled gold from various carriers, mostly Kenyan and Tanzanians, and used to pass it on to the melter who used to melt the gold and sell it to jewellers in cash. The money collected by the melter was paid back to the aggregators who used to divide the money among the various carriers concerned. (ANI)
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