Hyderabad: International gold smuggling ring busted; 3 held
Authorities seized 700 grams of gold from the accused. Including 6 gold biscuits weighing approximately 116 grams each.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 2 March 2023 3:56 AM GMT
Gold bars seized by SOT Cyberabad and Customs Officials in Hyderabad.
Hyderabad: SOT Cyberabad and Customs Officials busted an international gold smuggling racket and apprehended three smugglers in Hyderabad.
The accused have been identified as Syed Moiz Pasha, Sameer Khan, and Mohd Arshad.
Syed Moiz Pasha, a 37-year-old travel agent residing in Qhadri Chaman, Falaknuma area is the mastermind behind the gold smuggling operation. Sameer Khan, a 31-year-old businessman from Mailadevpally, Rajendranagar, served as the transporter, while Mohd Arshad, a 41-year-old jeweler (Masood Jewellars) from Rein Bazar, was the receiver.
The authorities seized 700 grams of gold from the accused. These include 6 gold biscuits weighing approximately 116 grams each. Along with the gold, 13 passports, 2 gold sold-out receipts, and ā¹40,00,000 in cash were also seized.
Seized gold bars, passports, and receipts
M A Rasheed, Deputy Commissioner of Police, SOT Cyberabad, said Syed Moiz Pasha, a travel agent by profession, was approached by local individuals to arrange tourist visas and facilitate the illegal import of smuggled gold from Dubai without paying customs duty.
Based on credible information, SOT Rajendranagar Zone Team, along with Customs Officials, apprehended Syed Moiz Pasha in the Vattepally, Mailardevpally area. He was found selling the imported smuggled gold biscuits.
During the investigation, he revealed that he had sent Sameer Khan to Dubai in the second week of February for gold smuggling. On February 28, Sameer Khan returned to India with 6 smuggled gold biscuits weighing about 700 grams, which were collected and kept by Syed Moiz Pasha for sale. He also admitted to importing smuggled gold 4-5 times before, which he sold to Mohd Arshad, who owns Masood Jewellery.
The accused were handed over to the Additional Commissioner of Customs at the GST Bhavan for further investigation.
The arrest was made with the help of P Narayana, Additional DCP SOT, and a team of police officers led by K Venkat Reddy, Inspector of Police, SOT Rajendranagar Zone, as well as Customs officials in Hyderabad. The team also included SI K. Ravi, HC Sirajuddin, and other staff from SOT Rajendranagar Zone.
