71-year-old disabled man smuggles gold worth ₹6.30 cr in his shoes

During interrogation, he mentioned a Parel resident who was also involved in the illegal trade and was arrested

MUMBAI: A 71-year-old disabled man from Sewri was arrested on Friday by the Directorate of the Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials from the airport for allegedly smuggling 6,730 grams of gold from Bangkok in the soles of his shoe.

71-year-old disabled man smuggles gold worth ₹6.30 cr in his shoes

The accused man was identified as Bharat Chamanlal Sheth, a resident of TJ Road in Sewri. DRI officials said his right leg was amputated so he used a wheelchair. They found smuggled gold worth around ₹6.30 crore hidden in the sole of his amputated leg’s shoe.

According to the DRI officials, after receiving a tip-off on Friday, they intercepted Sheth at the exit gate, after he crossed the green channel, of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA). “His right leg was amputated. When he was searched, we found 14 yellow coloured metal bars (wrapped in coloured paper) concealed in the sole of his shoe in the amputated leg,” said a DRI official. The bars were certified by the government valuer to be gold bars with 97.5 % purity, weighing 6,735 grams and valued around ₹6.30 crore, he added.

The smuggled gold was seized under section 110 of the Customs Act. Sheth’s statement was recorded, where he could not provide any legitimate documents to support import of the seized gold. The official said he revealed the name of one Chintan Sanghvi, 41, who was picked up from G D Ambedkar Marg in Parel, who was found to have purchased the seized gold and paid the foreign sellers through hawala channels.

“Their interrogation revealed they have been smuggling gold for the past few days and were aware that it was illegal. They are non-cooperative and have not revealed as to where and to whom the gold was to be sold in the country. They have not told us what the source of the funds for the purchase is or informed about the other members of the syndicate,” said the official.

Had they imported the gold via legal route into the country a 38.5 % effective rate would have been applicable to the import, and the overall duty could have been around ₹2.42 crore, according to an official. The attempt of duty evasion is greater than the threshold of ₹50 lakh, making the offence is cognizable. “It is serious in nature involving foreign and international gangs,” said the official.