Jeweller gets ‘preventive’ jail term for buying smuggled gold
NEWDELHI: A Delhi-based Jeweller, accused of buying smuggled gold, will have to spend a year in jail. In a first order in recent years under Cofeposa Act (Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974), the customs has asked the Delhi Police to arrest and put the jeweller and passenger in Tihar Jail for one year.
Cofeposa Act provides option of preventive detention in certain cases for the purposes of conservation and augmentation of foreign exchange and prevention of smuggling activities.
The act, which is equivalent to MCOCA for criminals, allows customs to send repeated offenders to jail. Customs said that the strict action will help in curbing gold smugglers at Delhi airport and they have at least four such proposals pending.
“This is the first order in at least two or three years. In November last year, we had arrested a passenger with gold worth ₹22 lakh. His interrogation lead us to a south Delhi based jeweller, who was also arrested and admitted of receiving gold worth ₹53 lakh on multiple occasions. Both were arrested and, later, the request to book them under stringent section was made,” said a customs officer at Delhi airport.
Customs said that once they get the approval, they will prepare a proposal to book airport employees helping smugglers under the same Act. With 17 employees being caught in last three years, customs said that they use loopholes in airport security structure to sneak the gold out of airport building.
Customs has seized 214 kg gold this year worth ₹59.92 crore in 2017. While in 2016, 180 kg gold was seized. “In some cases, we found that employees have helped the smuggler earlier as well. Once we appl stringent sections, it will be a deterrent. Airport staff gets good commission for helping smugglers. Often the smuggler or one helping them comes out of jail after getting arrested and travel for the same purpose. By putting them under preventive arrest, we will stop this activity,” the officer added.