Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai, has seized diamonds worth over Rs 5.7 crore at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International (CSMI) Airport and arrested two persons for allegedly attempting to smuggle them to Bangkok.
According to the DRI, the accused were intercepted at the Mumbai airport based on specific Intelligence inputs. During examination and questioning, both passengers admitted that they had concealed two capsules each inside their bodies.
The capsules were later purged by the passengers, leading to the recovery of 1,624 carats of diamonds, including natural diamonds as well as lab-grown ones. The total value of the seized diamonds has been estimated at approximately Rs 5.70 crore.
Officials said the diamonds had been deliberately concealed for the purpose of illegal export.
The recovered diamonds were seized under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and both accused persons were arrested.
The DRI stated that further investigation is underway to dismantle the syndicate allegedly involved in the smuggling operation, which appears to have links to international money laundering activities.
Earlier on April 20, the DRI, Mumbai had arrested an importer for smuggling ‘Watermelon Seeds’ and ‘Green Peas’ worth Rs 139 crore from Tanzania, Sudan, and Canada.
The illegal consignment was seized at Nhava Sheva Port, and the proprietor of the importing firm – a key person behind this organised smuggling – was arrested on Sunday, said a statement issued by the DRI.
Acting on specific Intelligence, officers intercepted 132 containers containing approximately 3,029 metric tonnes of goods mis-declared as ‘Toor Dal/Pigeon Peas’. The seized consignments are valued at around Rs 139 crore.
Detailed examination revealed blatant misdeclaration, with recovery of 2,710 MT of watermelon seeds originating from Tanzania and Sudan, and 319 MT of green peas from Canada, instead of the declared goods ‘Toor Dal/Pigeon Peas’.
The government had imposed strict import restrictions on these commodities to safeguard domestic farmers from low-priced imports.
Import of melon seeds has been restricted/prohibited post June 2024 (DGFT Notification No. 05/2023 dated April 5, 2024), while imports of green peas are restricted under DGFT Notification No. 37/2015–20 dated December 18, 2019, subject to a Minimum Import Price (Rs 200/kg CIF) and restricted import through Kolkata port only.
The DRI continues to intensify Intelligence-driven operations against the smuggling of restricted/prohibited goods, reaffirming its commitment to protecting the nation’s economic interests, ensuring a level playing field for domestic producers, and enforcing compliance with import regulations, the statement said.
(IANS)
