MUMBAI: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted an international gold-smuggling syndicate, allegedly operated by Chinese nationals, and seized a smuggled gold bar worth ₹1.10 crore from one of its operatives in Mumbai. The gold bar was found concealed in an imported treadmill, officials said.
Acting on a tip-off, DRI officials checked the consignment at the Air Cargo Complex in Mumbai on Sunday and found a 24-carat gold bar, weighing 691.87 grams, concealed inside the motor of a treadmill imported from Hong Kong.
A Chinese national who came to take the delivery of the imported treadmill and his alleged accomplice, an Indian importer, were arrested the same day under the Customs Act, DRI officials said on Tuesday.
“The Chinese national was coordinating with the smuggling network’s Chinese masterminds, located abroad, for clearance of the consignment,” an official said, requesting anonymity.
In the subsequent follow-up operation, DRI teams conducted searches across Mumbai, Chennai, Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu in Tamil Nadu to trace other persons associated with the gold smuggling network. The investigation has revealed that a group of Chinese nationals, in association with Indian accomplices, had allegedly employed an innovative modus operandi to smuggle gold through legitimate commercial imports like treadmills, officials said.
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