Mumbai Crime: DRI Arrests 2 More In ₹1.93 Crore Foreign Currency And Diamond Smuggling Racket; ₹97 Lakh Seized From Fort Shop

Mumbai, Feb 25: Officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have arrested two more persons allegedly linked with the syndicate involved in attempting to smuggle foreign currencies outside India.

One of the arrested persons is the alleged supplier of foreign currencies, and during a search operation at his shop in south Mumbai, the DRI officers recovered foreign currency amounting to Rs 51.45 lakh and Rs 45.90 lakh in Indian currency from two secret cavities in his shop. A total of six persons have been arrested in the case.

Passengers intercepted at airport

According to the police, on receipt of specific intelligence that four passengers, namely Abdul Karim, Mohamed Mukhtar, Abdul Khadir Muazzam Kola and Abdul Khadir, flying from Mumbai to Dubai, would attempt to smuggle out huge quantities of foreign currency and diamonds out of India, the DRI officers intercepted them at the international airport on February 12.

Examination of their baggage resulted in recovery of British pounds and US dollars equivalent to Rs 1.93 crore, along with 93 grams of diamonds concealed in 53 different transparent pouches.

They told DRI officers that the currency was handed over by a person and the diamonds were handed over by another person in Mumbai for transportation to Dubai in lieu of Rs 20,000 each.

They also informed that they did not have any legal documents or any other documents that could prove their legitimate possession of the recovered foreign currency and diamonds.

Follow-up action and further arrests

In a follow-up action, the DRI officers apprehended one Sufiyan Narpali (delivery man of foreign currency to the said passengers), and upon inquiry he admitted that he handed over the foreign currency to Muazzam Kola for smuggling outside India based on the instructions received from other syndicate members.

Narpali further stated that he used to collect foreign currency from an individual named B. H. Jain, who has a shop at Bora Bazar Street, Fort, for further delivery of the currency to be smuggled out of India, officials said.

Subsequently, a follow-up search operation was conducted last week at the premises of Jain, and on detailed examination of the premises, from two secret cavities in his shop, the DRI officers recovered foreign currency amounting to Rs 51.45 lakh and Rs 45.90 lakh in Indian currency.

Jain, in his statement to the DRI, admitted his role in the said foreign currency smuggling syndicate. He also confessed to his arrangement of the Indian currency recovered from his premises, based on instructions of other syndicate members to smuggle it outside India.

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“In the ongoing investigation, more pieces of evidence are being gathered, and the same need to be investigated. Other key members of the syndicate are yet to be apprehended, and all-out efforts are being made in this regard. Further, sources for the purchase of the foreign currency are yet to be investigated,” a DRI official said.

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