The Customs Department has taken major action in the matter of smuggling of precious stones and jewelery at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. Customs officials have arrested an Indian passenger arriving in Delhi from Bangkok and recovered a large quantity of precious stones and jewelery from his possession. The total value of the recovered goods is said to be more than Rs 2 crore.
luggage searched
According to the Customs Department, on October 3, flight AI2303 from Bangkok reached Delhi's Terminal-3. An Indian passenger who came on the same flight was identified by customs officials on the basis of spot profiling. After this the passenger and his luggage were searched.
Stones and jewelery were recovered
During the search, 3,200 pieces of precious stones and jewelery were recovered from the passenger. Their price has been estimated to be around Rs 1 crore 1 lakh 54 thousand 600. During interrogation, the passenger told the customs officials that he had brought this valuable item from Bangkok to Delhi.
cut-polished precious stones found
Taking the investigation forward in the case, the Customs Department also conducted a search operation on October 4 at a location linked to the accused. During this, the officials found a large quantity of raw and cut-polished precious stones. During the search, 196.676 kg of black-green rough emerald, 221 carat cut-polished ruby and 45 carat cut-polished emerald were recovered. Apart from this, during the search, some important documents and other items were also seized by the customs officials.
Seized under section 110 of Customs Act
According to the Customs Department, the total value of the goods seized in this case, including the jewelery and precious stones recovered from the airport and the goods recovered from the hideout, is around Rs 2 crore 2 lakh 54 thousand 400. Custom officials have seized all the valuables recovered under Section 110 of the Customs Act. The accused has been arrested under Section 104 of the Custom Act.
At present the Customs Department is investigating the entire matter. The investigation is trying to find out who are the people involved in bringing precious stones and jewelery from Bangkok to Delhi and whether this smuggling is connected to any big network. Customs officials are busy taking further action on the basis of recovered documents and other clues.