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MUMBAI: In the gold smuggling case involving Afghanistan consul general Zakia Wardak, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested four jewellers from the city on Monday. The DRI also claimed that the syndicate smuggled 300 kg of foreign-marked gold into the country this year in the four months beginning January.
Another employee of the consulate is under the scanner in the case.The DRI suspects that Wardak might have supplied gold bars to the accused jewellers in the past as well.
The arrested jewellers were identified as Vaibhav Thaker (31), Sahil Shah (36), Vinod Shah (60), all residents of Walkeshwar in South Mumbai, and Shailesh Jain (55), who is a resident of Marine Drive.
The arrests followed the interception of Wardak on April 25, when she arrived from Dubai with 25 kg of foreign-marked gold bars worth Rs 18.60 crore. Investigations revealed that a consulate staff member, Rafiullah Kelewal, might be connected to the syndicate.
Call detail records analysis showed that Kelewal was in continual touch with Sahil Shah and Vinod Shah of SK Shah and Sons jewellers in Chira Bazaar.
Thaker said to the DRI that from Jan to April, Jain and his brother from J K Jewels had given a total of 300 kg of smuggled gold to customers introduced through him.
Investigations revealed that Wardak had visited the SK Shah office in Jan and made a proposal to deliver gold bars for monetary consideration. She introduced Kelewal, and it was decided that they would give about 200 kg of gold to SK Shah against cash payment. Once the gold was delivered, Sahil Shah would sell it in the domestic market and hand over the cash to Kelewal. Jain would then sell the gold to Thaker on cash basis. “Other key members of the syndicate, Tejas Shah of SK Shah and Sons, hawala operators, et cetera, are yet to be apprehended,” a DRI officer said.
