Mumbai DRI arrests member of inter-state gold smuggling gang

KOCHI: Officials with the Mumbai unit of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recently arrested a Perumbavoor native alleged to be a member of the syndicate that smuggled 4,522kg of gold worth `1,473 crore concealed as brass scrap via ports in Gujarat last year.

According to DRI officers, Amjath C Salim, the arrested, had allegedly invested to procure 44kg of gold between September 2017 and October 2018. He had been absconding for the past six months.
“He was taken into custody on Friday (February 7) and interrogated by officials of the DRI Mumbai unit. He allegedly helped two Perumbavoor natives to flee with 90kg of the gold illegally brought to Mumbai. However, he did not disclose anything about his investment in the smuggling,” said an official.
Amjath was produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court here on Friday from where a transit warrant was obtained, said the official. “He was then produced before the Metropolitan Court in Mumbai and was placed in remand on Sunday,” he said.

Last month, DRI officials had arrested Elamakkara native V E Siraj for investing money in gold smuggling with the same gang. Nisar Aliyar of Perumbavoor, the kingpin, was also arrested. The DRI probe revealed that the smuggling syndicate under Aliyar had smuggled the 4,522kg of gold from the UAE to India via the ports in Gujarat. The gold was moulded into rods and discs and coloured to look like brass scrap.

“As of now, there is no case that the gang smuggled gold through ports in Kerala. It is suspected the gold smuggled has reached Kerala for sale in the grey market. An investigation is on,” said an official.