DRI ‘watch smuggler’ is in fact a well-heeled collector

A city-based finance professional, who is under the scanner of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for smuggling in around 35 ‘limited edition’ premium watches in the recent past, worth around ₹30 crore, is an aficionado who bought them for personal use, revealed a preliminary probe by the agency, sources said. The watches have since been seized. The accused is in his mid-thirties

MUMBAI: Buying an expensive watch abroad and wearing it during return journey to evade paying Customs duty may prove costlier than one may believe. As per law, it is an act of smuggling even if the time piece is intended for personal use.

DRI ‘watch smuggler’ is in fact a well-heeled collector

A city-based finance professional, who is under the scanner of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for smuggling in around 35 ‘limited edition’ premium watches in the recent past, worth around ₹30 crore, is an aficionado who bought them for personal use, revealed a preliminary probe by the agency, sources said. The watches have since been seized. The accused is in his mid-thirties.

Considering the high value and the number of watches recovered, the DRI sleuths examined the matter to ascertain if the accused was linked to any organised smuggling network involved in the sale of high-end watches, but found no evidence to confirm such a suspicion, sources said.

The accused smuggled in the watches during several overseas trips undertaken by him owing to his enthusiasm for premium watches, as a part of his hobby and with his legal income, said sources in the DRI.

As part of its probe, the agency examined the accused’s profile, including his occupation, antecedents and if he has accomplices or links to any wider procurement network, the sources said.

Most of the watches seized by the DRI are ‘limited edition’ watches having exceptionally high value, which could cost almost ₹1 crore per piece, said sources.

The DRI officials said that acting on an intelligence that was developed over several days, a team of the agency arrested the accused at Kolkata international airport on his arrival from Singapore. At the time of his arrest, the accused was allegedly carrying a “very expensive Greubel Forsey watch”, which had not been declared before Customs to avoid paying the duty, said the agency. The accused was arrested by the DRI.

After questioning the accused, the DRI team had carried out a search of his residence in an upscale residential complex in Central Mumbai. A Kolkata court subsequently released the finance professional on bail.

The search yielded a virtual trove of 34 more high-end watches of various premium brands, including Greubel Forsey, Purnell, Louis Vuitton, MB&F, Mad, Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille, he had purportedly smuggled into the country during several overseas trips.

The accused claimed during his questioning that he would wear the watches while smuggling them in and insisted they were old and used articles, to evade the payment of customs duties, sources said.

Import of watches by individuals through baggage attracts 38.5% Customs duties as per the Baggage Rules, which was evaded by the accused, the sources said.

The man was arrested under section 104 of the Customs Act, 1962, for duty evasion. The DRI sources did not disclose the personal details related to the accused as the probe is underway.

The unearthing of the “serious fraud” committed during several foreign trips undertaken by the accused has reinforced the enforcement agency’s ability to detect newer methods of smuggling, sources said.