On the basis of a specific intelligence that gold smuggled from Africa through Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSMIA) was being processed at a melting facility to remove the foreign markings and was being diverted to the local market, a Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) team initiated action on April 22, 2024.
Accordingly, the officers of DRI Mumbai Zonal Unit searched a melting facility and seized 9.31 Kg of gold in various forms including foreign-origin gold and 16.66 Kg of silver. Further, the melting facility operator and a recruiter (a key member of the syndicate) who arranges for carriers and collects the smuggled gold for onward processing were also apprehended.
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.
Simultaneously, 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 INR 1.92 Crores of cash were recovered and seized.
On further enquiry, it was revealed that the African Nationals from whom the recruiter has collected the gold are staying in two hotels near Mumbai airport. Therefore, 2 teams were dispatched and the 2 African Nationals who smuggled the gold and handed over to the recruiter were intercepted.
All 4 persons viz. the 2 carriers, the recruiter and the 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.
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