Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai (SHP)

Mumbai, Jun 17: In Santacruz domestic airport, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) confiscated over 32.28 kg gold bars. According to the officials, the gold bars were being smuggled and are said to be valued at Rs 10 crore. A group of seven men have been apprehended in the case on Saturday June 15. They detailed their motives which involved the gold being sold to jewellers in Zaveri Bazaar for a huge margin.

The DRI officials seized 12 cargo consignments. They found that seven logistics companies from Kalbadevi ordered the consignments and unlawfully marked it as gold jewellery in lieu of gold bars.

“The arrested allegedly smuggled foreign-marked and unmarked gold bars. These include bars smuggled across Indo-Myanmar border, we found that the foreign-marked gold bars were smuggled through various ports of India and brought to Mumbai through domestic air route to avoid checking by DRI,” an official said.

The companies involved in this major smuggling racket were listed as; Satrawala Logistics Pvt Ltd, New Ashok Parcel and Logistics Pvt Ltd, Ambe Express Logistics, Naplog Logistics Pvt Ltd, Bhawani Logistics Pvt Ltd, Jai Mata Air Services and Yogita Logistics Pvt Ltd.

Manohar Kothari, owner of Ambe Express Logistics, Jai Prakash Saini, owner of Yogita Logistics and Sanjay Kumar Didwania of Ashok Parcel were placed in judicial custody. Meanwhile, Vikash Trivedi of Naplog Logistics, Bhagwan Lal Gujjar of Bhawani Logistics, Rakesh Saini of Satrawala Logistics and Rakesh Kumar of Shri Sai Parcel Service have received bail.

The DRI official further said, “We interrogated the men on whose name the consignments were booked. The arrested accused confessed that they have been involved in smuggling for the past two to three years.”