Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday carried out searches at multiple locations linked to Delhi-based industrialist Vikas Garg, Mumbai-based logistics firm Titan Sea & Air Services Pvt Ltd, and several associated trading entities in connection with an alleged Rs 190-crore customs duty evasion fraud. The case involves the purported illegal import and diversion of betel nuts and other materials through the forging of export documents. The searches were carried out under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002,The central agency said on Thursday.
The ED Action stems from an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), New Delhi, ,Vikas Garg, whose name earlier surfaced in Mahadev betting app case investigations, is reportedly among the accused in the FIR, alongside Titan Sea & Air’s directors, and associates of UAE-based trading firms. The CBI case accused the company and its directors of fabricating export documents, invoices, shipping bills to falsely show goods as being exported to Nepal and Bangladesh, through land customs stations. Investigators found that the goods were, in fact, diverted and sold domestically, including to a Delhi-based trading firm, resulting in large-scale evasion of customs duties and a significant loss to the exchequer.
The CBI FIR, registered in 2023, states that Titan Sea & Air Services allegedly misused the Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) and Special Economic Zone (SEZ) frameworks between 2015 and 2017. The firm reportedly imported large quantities of PVC resin and betel nuts duty-free under the pretext of re-export but instead diverted them into India’s Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) in violation of SEZ regulations.
The alleged fraud, officials said, was executed through a complex logistics chain with imports routed via Dubai and Indonesia, stored at FTWZ facilities in Maharashtra, and moved through shell or associated entities abroad to facilitate documentation. Forged shipping records, manipulated customs seals, and falsified export proofs were allegedly used to show goods as exported to neighbouring countries.
During Wednesday’s operation, the ED seized incriminating documents and digital devices from the premises of Garg, Titan Sea & Air directors, and several employees allegedly involved in setting up overseas firms for import-export transactions.
Officials said the agency is now tracking the money trail linked to UAE-based suppliers, domestic buyers, and public servants suspected of facilitating the fraudulent clearances. The role of Customs and SEZ officials posted at the Arshiya Free Trade Warehousing Zone in Panvel is also under scrutiny.
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“The diversion of duty-free imports into the domestic market through forged documents reflects a coordinated financial and regulatory breach,” an ED source said.
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