Mumbai: DRI busts gold smuggling racket, 5 African women among 8 arrested

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) conducted a raid on a gold melting facility and a jewelry shop, leading to the confiscation of sales proceeds from smuggled gold amounting to Rs 3.62 crore, along with Rs 2.95 crore in cash and 2.1 kilograms of gold.

A DRI release said eight persons were arrested in this connection, including five women comprising four Kenyans and a Tanzanian who were used as carriers of the smuggled gold. Acting on specific intelligence, the DRI clandestinely searched the premises being used for melting smuggled gold followed by search at the premises of a jeweller who was the purchaser of the smuggled gold," the release informed.

During the searches, 2.1 of gold that was smuggled into India, USD 1 lakh amounting to Rs 84.15 lakh in Indian money, as well as Rs 2.32 crore cash, all of which are sale proceeds from smuggled gold, were seized from the melting facility and the jewellery shop in Mumbai, the statement added. The owner-cum-operator of the melting facility is a repeat offender who is wanted in other cases as well, it said.

It resulted in the recovery of foreign currency of USD 3,31,600 valued at Rs.2,78,70,980, and Rs 63,07,500 cash. These are sale proceeds from smuggled gold. The probe found a nexus between the five African women and the owner cum operator of the melting facility to divert smuggled gold and receive cash in foreign and Indian currency, it said. The gold was collected by aggregators from various carriers, mostly Kenyan and Tanzanians, which was then passed on for melting and further sale to jewellers for cash, the statement said.