On October 9th, a gold smuggling syndicate was busted in India with the inclusion of four Kenyan women being among those detained for their suspected involvement.
While searching their hotel rooms, officials discovered Sh50 million in US dollars and Sh11.3 million in Indian Rupees, believed to have been obtained illegally through the sale of gold. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) investigated the matter and discovered that Samadhan Gurav had been responsible for collecting gold from women which he would then melt down, refine, and convert into bars for sale. The DRI also identified that there was a connection between Gurav and the five Africans behind the smuggling operation. With the smelting facility in existence, there was no trouble in smuggling gold or exchanging cash for foreign and Indian currency.
Upon arriving in Mumbai, Kenyan women would get in touch with Gurav to smuggle gold which they had brought with them from outside India. Together with his associates, Gurav would then proceed to stated hotels to collect the gold. Indian Intelligence Unit, during their recent operation, not only made arrests but also launched a raid on both Gurav’s melting facility and a jewellery shop. During the operation, 2.1 kilograms of gold were recovered. The operation also saw the seizure of Sh 56.4M. The operation resulted in the apprehension of three Indian men – Gurav, 35, Sagar Shinde, 34, and Jabra Ram Mali, 33 – as well as a Tanzanian woman.
According to detectives, Gurav, who has connections to other gold smuggling networks, would sell the illegal gold in foreign currency and then divide the profits among the Kenyan women and other members of the cartel. This incident is just one in a series of cases involving Kenyans smuggling contraband into Asian countries. Recently, a 40-year-old woman was detained at Mumbai Airport in India for attempting to smuggle gold worth Sh 29 million. The woman had concealed 17 bars of 22-carat gold within her undergarments and was apprehended after being profiled by airport authorities. Mumbai officials suspect that the woman had been involved in multiple smuggling operations.
The very thought of being…
The very thought of being imprisoned in a shithole country like India should make the average person shudder twice before thinking of committing a crime in that country. Not that our Kenyan prisons are good but I have heard they’re just a bit notch higher than India’s.