Ahmedabad: Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) busted a major gold smuggling syndicate operating in Gujarat, exposing an illegal melting unit in Vadodara linked to dealings involving 13 kg of foreign-origin gold valued at Rs 19.41 crore.
Three persons have been arrested under the Customs Act, 1962.
Agency officials said the syndicate used the state’s two international airports—Ahmedabad and Surat—to bring in smuggled gold, which was then routed to Vadodara for melting before being supplied to jewellers, including in Ahmedabad. Investigators also found involvement of a Dubai-based supplier.
‘Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers kept the suspects under surveillance and carried out coordinated searches over 42 hours beginning Oct 16. DRI officials said the operation led to the seizure of about 890 grams of gold and recovery of incriminating evidence related to 6.41 kg of illegally melted gold. ‘Further searches at the jewellery shop resulted in the recovery of undocumented foreign-origin gold bars and records relating to dealings involving around 5.8 kg smuggled gold routed through a separate handler linked to the syndicate’s main financier based in Dubai,’ added the release.
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The operation uncovered the full chain of the racket: smuggling by air passengers, hand-over to handlers, illegal melting, and sale through a jewellery outlet,’ according to a release by the agency. The melted gold was subsequently supplied to a jewellery shop in Ahmedabad for sale against cash,’ according to the release. “The operation exposed the interconnected roles of passengers, handlers, intermediaries, the gold-melting facility operator and the jewellery trade channel in facilitating the movement and disposal of smuggled gold,” said a senior official. Sources in the Customs department said gold becomes ‘illegal’ when it is not declared at the Red Channel, when a person carries more gold than permissible limits, and when the person does not have proper documentation including purchase and source. Efforts are to identify and break organized syndicates involved in smuggling,” said a senior official.
Preliminary investigations suggest passengers were routed from various foreign airports to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA) and Surat International Airport. The gold was allegedly concealed in multiple ways, including gold wires coated with rhodium, gold embedded in inner linings of trolley bags, and gold paste concealed within a trolley bag’s inner shells. ‘After arrival, the gold was allegedly handed over to handlers outside the airports and routed through intermediaries to an illegal gold-melting facility in Vadodara. “The handler/financier, the operator of the melting facility and other key persons have been identified during the investigation. “By evading customs duty, the smugglers earn money through margins that runs into lakhs. Download the TOI App.
In some of the earlier cases, the passengers were lured with cut in the deal or free foreign trip.