Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has busted an international gold-smuggling syndicate allegedly run by Chinese nationals, seizing gold valued at Rs 1.10 crore concealed in an imported treadmill in Mumbai, officials said.
A Chinese national and an individual associated with an importing firm have been arrested, the officials said on Tuesday.
The probe indicated that a group of Chinese nationals, allegedly in collusion with Indian accomplices, devised an elaborate modus operandi to smuggle gold into India by concealing it inside machinery imported through legitimate commercial channels, according to DRI.
Acting on specific intelligence, DRI personnel intercepted and examined a consignment of treadmills imported from Hong Kong at the Air Cargo Complex in Mumbai. They recovered an arc-shaped 24-carat gold bar weighing 691.870 grams, concealed inside the motor of an imported treadmill, the officials said.
Following the seizure, DRI teams conducted searches at multiple locations in Mumbai, Chennai, Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu as part of the investigation, they added.
