Gold Smuggling Conspiracy Thwarted: NIA Arrests Key Accused Worth Rs 9 Crore
Pune, 17th August 2023: NIA apprehends a highly sought-after suspect in the Jaipur gold smuggling case involving over Rs. 9 crore worth of gold bars. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has successfully captured an individual against whom both a Red Corner Notice (RCN) and a Look Out Circular (LOC) were issued. This action comes in connection to the seizure of 18.56 kgs of gold bars at Jaipur International Airport.
These gold bars, valued at over Rs. 9 crore in the market, were confiscated during an attempt to smuggle them from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2020. The smuggling operation was part of a larger criminal conspiracy aimed at undermining India’s economic security and monetary stability.
The bars, which were estimated to be worth Rs. 92,382,724, had been ingeniously concealed within a set of emergency lights by the suspects involved in the smuggling, namely Mohabbat Ali, Subhash, Md Maqbool Sheikh, Chuna Ram, and Amjad Ali.
Mohabbat Ali, hailing from Rajasthan, had been evading authorities since September 2020. On March 22, 2021, the NIA had filed a chargesheet against him under IPC section 120B and UA(P)Act sections 16, 18, and 20.
Having deemed Mohabbat Ali a ‘most wanted’ individual, the NIA had offered a reward of Rs. 2 lakh for information leading to his capture. He was declared a Proclaimed Offender (PO) by the NIA Special Court on March 17, 2021, with a Non Bailable Warrant (NBW) issued against him. Furthermore, an LOC was initiated in 2021, followed by the issuance of a RCN on September 13, 2021.
