The arrested person has been identified as Jaykumar Desai (32).
Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Customs department on Thursday arrested a man who had arrived at the international airport in Mumbai from Hong Kong and has seized 25 pouches containing diamonds worth over Rs 3.65 crore. The accused has been arrested for evading customs duty, officials said.
The arrested person has been identified as Jaykumar Desai (32). According to the Customs sources, on Wednesday night, while screening the baggage of Desai, the customs officials noticed suspicious image on baggage screening machine.
"Desai had arrived from Hong Kong by Jet Airways flight. We examined the baggage as well as Desai and found 25 pouches purported to be diamonds from his hand baggage. The diamonds were concealed inside baggage expandable chain of his handbag," said a Customs official.
A government approved valuer assayed the recovered goods and certified it to be loose diamonds of 5005 carats, collectively valued at Rs 3.65 crore, he added. The diamonds were later seized by the customs.
"Desai in his statement has admitted carriage, concealment, possession, non-declaration, and recovery of the said loose diamonds. Since Desai had tried to evade customs duty, he has been arrested under the provisions of Customs Act," said the official.
"My client was told by his employer to carry the said bag and was asked to give it to a person in Surat. He had no knowledge about the contents of said baggage containing diamonds. He carried bag to help his employer and he had simply performed his duty," says Desai's defense advocate Ravi Hirani.
DIAMOND AFFAIR
- 25 pouches purported to be diamonds were seized from the accused’s hand baggage
- The 5005 carat diamonds were valued at Rs 3.65 crore
- The diamonds were later seized by the customs officials
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