The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) claimed Friday that it has seized the largest cache of gold ever recovered in the history of the probe agency from a smuggling syndicate in Mumbai’s Dongri area.
“Information was received by DRI that a syndicate is involved in smuggling of foreign origin gold in various forms like ropes, wires, rods, discs, etc. of various weights into India by concealing the same in import consignments, mainly melting scrap of different metals,” stated the DRI press release.
The statement further informed that DRI officers laid a trap in Dongri area and intercepted two vehicles, following which they searched the vehicles for any illegal possessions. As a result, 30 kgs of gold in the form of two circular discs were found concealed inside a scooter whereas three circular discs of 45 kgs of gold were found inside a Honda City car.
Two persons named Abdul Ahad Zarodarwala and Shaikh Abdul Ahad, employed by Shoeb Zarodarwala were driving the car and the scooter respectively while Zarodarwala was found seated inside the car.
DRI said that in their statement to authorities, Shoeb and Abdul admitted that they had received more than 200 kgs of foreign-origin gold smuggled into India from a person named Nisar Aliyar and that the 75 kgs of foreign origin gold recovered from their possession was also received from Aliyar.
The duo further informed the probe agency that they had been selling the smuggled gold in the wholesale market for commission and a person named Raju, also known as Manoj Jain, was their customer and they had sold around 100 kgs of smuggled gold to him in the past and were about to sell 15 kgs of gold to him from the seized gold.
DRI said that the nabbed individuals claimed that the money for the purchase of gold was sent through non-banking channels and had sent Rs 12 crores of such money through an individual named Aaquil Fruitwala. Officers identified the place where Nisar Aliyar was living and summoned him to the DRI Office.
“In his statement recorded under the Customs Act, 1962, Nisar Aliyar confessed that he had smuggled more than 200 kgs of foreign origin gold into India from Dubai by concealing it in containers with Brass Scrap including the 75 kgs recovered by DRI,” read the DRI statement.
Nisar Aliyar also informed that in addition to the gold sold to Zarodarwalas, he has also sold around 30 kgs of smuggled goods to a person named Happy Dhakad.
Manoj Jain aka Raju was also located and he admitted in his statement that he had bought around 111 kgs of foreign-origin smuggled gold from Zarodarwalas in the last 3 to 4 months and that he was to receive 15 kgs of gold from the quantity recovered by DRI.
Also, 68 Lakhs of cash was recovered from an associate of Manoj Jain. The office and residential premises of Dhakad were located and searches were conducted by officers of DRI. Gold in cut form, (cut from discs similar to the discs seized from Zarodarwalas) to the tune of 20.4 kgs and 11.5 kgs in foreign marked bars was recovered without any supporting evidence of import.
Also, cash amounts of Rs. 44.5 Lakhs and Rs. 28.5 Lakhs were recovered from the residential and office premises of Happy Dhakad which appeared to be sale proceeds of the smuggled gold. Dhakad confessed that that 20.4 kgs of gold recovered from his premises was supplied to him by Nisar and the other part of 11.5 kgs gold of foreign markings was procured from the market from different wholesalers, about whom he didn’t give any details.
Total gold of 106.9 gs and cash of Rs. 1.81 crores has been seized in this case till now. Investigations are still going on to identify other players in this smuggling racket.
More than 200 kgs of foreign origin gold valued at Rs. 60 crores has been smuggled by Nisar into India by concealing it inside imported metal scrap. He sold part of the smuggled gold to Zarodarwalas and to Dhakad.
Zarodarwalas, after receiving the smuggled gold, sold it to various customers on a commission basis and Manoj Jain was one of them. The illicit money against the purchase of gold was routed to Dubai through hawala.
