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Fugitive wanted by NIA in Jaipur gold smuggling case brought from Riyadh: CBI
An Interpol red notice was published against Mohabbat Ali on September 13, 2021 on a request from NIA.
NEW DELHI: Mohabbat Ali, wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with its probe into a case of smuggling gold bars into the country, has been brought back from Saudi Arabia, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said in a statement on Thursday.
“The Global Operations Centre of CBI via Interpol channels has coordinated the return of a red notice subject Mohabbat Ali in coordination with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Interpol’s National Central Bureau, Riyadh. He was returned to India from Saudi Arabia on August 17,” a CBI statement on Thursday said.
An Interpol red notice was published against Mohabbat Ali on September 13, 2021 on a request from NIA.
The CBI statement said a case for conspiracy to smuggle gold bars from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia into India was registered against him by NIA.
According to the data accessed by HT, CBI has ensured the return of over 40 fugitives through extradition or deportation route with the help of Interpol over the last two years.
Interpol secretary general Jurgen Stock last week told HT that Interpol was in the process of strengthening the compliance and review mechanism for red notices and that controversial cases like that of Mehul Choksi are just 3% or 4%.
Mohabbat Ali was among the 18 people named by NIA in its charge sheet filed in connection with the July 2020 case when gold bars, weighing 18.5 kg, were seized at Jaipur international airport from 10 people, who had arrived from Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, by an Indian low-cost carrier’s flight.
