Mumbai: DRI Busts Gold Smuggling Racket, Seizes Gold Worth INR 10.48 Crore

The Mumbai zonal unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) raided an accused gold smuggling syndicate, seizing 16.47 kg of gold worth INR 10.48 crore and INR 2.65 crore in cash. The agency also arrested six alleged members of the syndicate, including the masterminds.

The agency launched a raid on the syndicate on Tuesday and Wednesday after receiving specific information regarding its alleged involvement in smuggling gold and selling it in criminal markets, following which premises utilised for the sale/purchase of such smuggled gold were searched. The DRI confiscated 10.7 kg of allegedly smuggled foreign gold in the shape of bars, as well as INR 1.8 crore in cash believed to represent the selling profits of smuggled gold.

During the search, DRI officials found and apprehended two accused syndicate members. A subsequent search of one of the two intercepted members’ dwellings, identified as the racket’s handler, yielded and seized 3.77 kg of illegal gold, according to agency sources. Based on additional intelligence, the DRI dispatched a search squad to the home of the syndicate’s two masterminds / main controllers on Tuesday.

When the search team arrived, the mastermind managed to remove alleged incriminating items from his 14th-floor apartment. The DRI team discovered INR 60 lakh in cash from the premises. After a 15-hour search, the agency recovered three mobile phones and two foreign-origin gold bars weighing one kilogramme each, reportedly belonging to the mastermind, from two locals who allegedly discovered the products and saved them for themselves, according to the agency.