Vasco: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths, Goa Chapter, have seized 24 export containers valued to Rs 1.25 crore at the container yard at Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) in Mormugao.
The containers, belonging to a Maharashtra-based company M/s Aryan Mines and Minerals, are suspected to be containing ‘natural garnet’, which is restricted for export.
The DRI has written a letter to the MPT, mentioning about the 24 containers, which should not be exported from the port. The DRI has provided details of the containers to the MPT authorities and further said that the material inside the containers falls under restricted category, as it has been restricted for export.
“We are identifying the containers and keeping them separately,” said an official of MPT. He said the containers are presently lying in the container yard in port premises.
According to highly placed sources, natural garnet can only be canalised through Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL). However, the exporter had misclassified the cargo as ‘natural abrasive stone size 30-60’ and attempted to export a restricted item.
Natural garnet is ‘beach sand mineral’ and restricted for export as per the Directorate General of foreign Trade (DGFT) notification number 26/2015 dated on August 21, 2018.
Investigation by DRI sleuths into the export of the consignment is on. A total of 24 containers, valued at Rs 1.25 crore, have been seized, said sources.
