₹500-cr iphone smuggling racket lands man in DRI net

MUMBAI: The Mumbai zonal unit of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) claims to have unearthed a major racket involving M/s Salecha Electronic Inc and M/s 2000 Semiconductors that allegedly imported iphones worth around ₹500 crore by mis-declaring gadgets as “computer parts and memory modules”. According to the DRI, this has caused loss of over ₹200 crores to the public exchequer.

On Friday, the agency arrested a Tardeo resident, Dinesh Salecha, claiming he had “played a major role in importing several iphone consignments by way of misdeclaration, thereby leading to evasion of customs duty running into crores of rupees.”

DRI sources said that the Tardeo resident allegedly headed a syndicate that outrightly smuggled iphones from January 2021 to November 2021. During this period, the DRI said, his firms “smuggled iphones worth more than ₹500 crore and evaded customs duty of more than ₹200 crore.”

Salecha, according to the sources, was absconding for over a year.

“Smuggling of iphones in such large quantities is not only detrimental to the economy of the country, but also poses a threat to national security,” the agency said. “It is important for the investigating agency to find out the associates of the respondent in this case, to unearth the exact modus operandi, their international connections and true extent of the problem, which may be much larger than what it appears prima facie,” it added.

The alleged illegal imports were made through M/s Salecha Electronic Inc and M/s 2000 Semiconductors. DRI had on

December 8, 2021, arrested an owner of a Hong Kong-based firm, an Indian national and a city resident, who had “clearly brought out the role of the respondent in the international smuggling syndicate.”

Subsequent probe by the agency revealed that Salecha declared the imported goods as ‘lithium-ion batteries’ in the Airway Bills” and this “is indicative that all such consignments were containing mobile phones although never declared by his firms.”

Lawyer representing the accused claimed that DRI officials had detained Salecha illegally. DRI’S special public prosecutor Amit Munde, however, refuted the claim and said that the accused was duly served a summon under section 108 of Customs Act and was asked to come to DRI office for inquiry.

“After his role was ascertained in the case, he was placed under arrest,” Munde said.