Mumbai The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has foiled attempts of an organised gold smuggling syndicate from Lucknow and Mumbai and seized 11 kg gold worth ₹5.88 crore.
The gold came through the air and was concealed inside motor rotors of machines imported from Dubai.
According to DRI officials, based on the intelligence, a consignment which had arrived from Dubai at Air Cargo Complex, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai was inspected and found to contain 5.8 kg gold valued at ₹3.10 crore. While checking the import documents, it was learnt that the item was declared as “sectional and drum-type drain cleaning machines.”
During a careful check, gold was found in disc form and concealed inside two motor rotors of the machine. During further inquiries, it was found that the importer was located in south Mumbai and later, he was subsequently arrested. He was produced in court and remanded to judicial custody.
In another operation, the DRI intercepted an import cargo which was shown on paper to contain an “electrical threading machine” at the Air Cargo Complex of Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Lucknow, and during the search, gold discs were found concealed in the machines in a very similar fashion. A total of 5.2 kg gold, valued at ₹2.78 crore, was seized in that case.
In 2021-22, the DRI had seized 833 kg of smuggled gold valued at ₹405 crore, which either came through air cargo or courier routes in India, said a DRI official.
Last year, DRI has effected significant seizures of gold from cargo and courier consignments. In July 2021, DRI had seized 16.79 kg of gold, valued at ₹8 crore from a courier consignment, followed by the seizure of 80.13 kg of smuggled gold, valued at ₹39.31 crore, in November 2021 from a cargo consignment at Delhi airport.
In another case, in August 2021, DRI had detected the use of a similar mode of concealment of smuggled gold in a consignment which had arrived at the International Courier Terminal, Mumbai. DRI had recovered 5.25 kg of concealed gold, valued at ₹2.67 crore, from that import consignment, mentioned in the DRI press release.