DRI Busts International Gold Smuggling Racket

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The investigations that followed the arrest of seven Taiwanese nationals at the Indira Gandhi International Airport at New Delhi has led to a large gold smuggling ring that involves local as well as foreign nationals. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials arrested the persons, including for women, based on a tip-off, sources said. A total of 17 Taiwanese nationals have been caught smuggling gold into India so far this year.

According to DRI, the seven people were caught while trying to escape from India with huge sum of hard cash hidden in their luggage. The suspects, who admitted the crime upon initial investigation, confessed that they were planning to take the money out of India in return for approximately $720 per head. They were engaged to smuggle gold into the country from Hong Kong and take out the cash to be handed over to the masterminds operating outside the country. A total of $890,000 in cash, hidden in their luggage, supposed to be smuggled out to Hong Kong, was recovered by the DRI officials.

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The group is found to have smuggled approximately 18 kilograms of gold from Hong Kong on Aug 3, 2018.

Following the series of gold smuggling incidents involving Taiwanese citizens, the Indian authorities have posted warnings, by displaying pictures of detained nationals. Meantime, Taiwanese Embassy in India called upon travelers to refrain from any such unlawful act, which in turn could damage their own future as well as their country’s reputation.

With the festive season at doorsteps, illegal gold smuggling into India is likely to escalate in the near future. As per World Gold Council (WGC) estimates, nearly 120 tonnes of gold were smuggled to India during the previous year. The tonnage of smuggled gold is expected to remain more or less in the same range this year also.