34 watches of premium brands namely Greubel Forsey, Purnell, Louis Vuitton, MB&F, Mad, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille recovered from house
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai zonal unit, recently arrested a Mumbai resident for allegedly smuggling high-end wrist watches, seizing 34 watches of top brands worth Rs 30 crore from his house.
DRI officers had received information that the man, whose identity it did not disclose, was in possession of more than 30 smuggled high-end premium watches of foreign origin at his residence. The officers further discovered that the man had gone abroad and would be returning to India with more high-end premium watches of foreign origin and try to smuggle them into the country by evading duty.
The man was intercepted at Kolkata Airport recently while returning from Singapore and an expensive Greubel Forsey watch was recovered from him, which he had not declared before Customs. The person was subsequently arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act, 1962, the DRI said.
Subsequently, the residence of the man at an upscale residential complex was searched by DRI officers. During the search, 34 high-end watches of various premium brands namely Greubel Forsey, Purnell, Louis Vuitton, MB&F, Mad, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille, etc. were recovered.
Most of these watches are Limited Edition and of exceptionally high value. The total market value of all the watches is estimated at more than Rs 30 crore, the central agency stated.
The agency has not revealed the identity of the accused and the place raided by it as they are looking for other members of the smuggling racket.
Import of watches by individuals through baggage attracts 38.5 per cent Customs duty as per Baggage Rules, which was evaded by the accused, an agency official said.
The case has unearthed a serious fraud committed over several foreign trips/visits and has reinforced DRI’s ability to detect and combat unique and sophisticated methods of smuggling, it said.
Source : The Indian Express