New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS) In one of the largest such seizures, Customs officers here have seized a consignment of polished diamonds worth Rs 1.56 crore being sent out of India under false labelling, officials said on Friday.
According to the information, the parcel was detected by officers of Air Cargo Export Commissionerate on Thursday.
"When the officials examined a consignment declared as plastic hot fix with a value of Rs 5,000, they got suspicious. The said consignment was then opened. On examination, a packet containing pouches of cut and polished diamonds was found inside it. These diamonds were concealed very ingeniously in the packets of 'plastic hot fix'," said an official.
The official said that packet of diamonds also had the hot fix pasted on it to avoid detection.
The said consignment, worth Rs 1.56 crore, was meant to be sent to Hong Kong.
"This appears to be a unique case of sending diamonds out of the country through concealment in the parcels through air cargo. This is one of the largest seizures of polished diamonds at Air Cargo Export, Delhi in recent times. We have informed the other agencies regarding it," said the official.
The doses were seized by authorities in India and Africa between July and August, a WHO statement said. It also said the vaccine's maker, the Serum Institute of India, confirmed that the doses were fake.
Prominent hospitals in Gurugram have claimed that a huge dip in admission of foreign nationals have been witnessed due to the ongoing Covid pandemic, while the latest political tussle in Afghanistan will also have a huge impact on medical tourism in Gurugram.
India's priority in Afghanistan is safely getting back home its citizens in the country that has been over-run by the Taliban and it is discussing the matter with UN and US officials, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said here on Wednesday.
The BJP MLA from the Bispi Assembly constituency in Bihar's Madhubani district, Hari Bhushan Thakur Bachaul, made a controversial statement on Wednesday when he said that people having problems staying in India should go to Afghanistan and avail petrol and diesel at a lower price there.
