A flyer who had arrived from Hong Kong was arrested with diamonds worth Rs.3.65 crore hidden in the expandable portion of his bag on Thursday. The accused, Jayakumar Jatin Desai (37), had loose diamonds weighing 5005.10 carats.
Traders who are part of the smuggling racket bring in diamonds from Hong Kong and sell them in Mumbai and Surat, said officials of the Customs department’s Air Intelligence Unit. Officials sent Desai’s bags for screening machine on suspicion. They were shocked when the screening machine detected the shining diamonds in the baggage. “We opened the baggage to find 25 pouches of polished diamonds hidden in the expandable portion,” said an official. AIU officials called a government-approved valuer to check the recovered diamonds. The valuer certified that the diamonds were polished and this attracts custom duty. Desai said he knew diamonds were being smuggled, he refused to name his employer.
Officials said Desai may have brought the diamonds on behalf of his employer, a well-to-do diamond merchant from Surat.
Desai’s advocate Ravi Hirani said, “My client has nothing to do with smuggling. He was told by his employer to carry a bag to be given to someone in Surat. Desai had no knowledge of the diamonds.”
Courtesy - Times of India
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