The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday arrested an accused in connection with the seizure of gold bars worth over ₹9 crore. It was seized at the Jaipur international airport in 2020.
Accused Mohabbat Ali, a resident of Rajasthan, had been absconding since September 2020. An Interpol Red Notice (September 13, 2021) and a look-out circular (2021) had earlier been issued against him. The Central Bureau of Investigation coordinated his return from Saudi Arabia through Interpol channels.
The case pertains to the seizure of gold bars weighing 18.56 kg which were being smuggled into the country from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. They had been concealed inside the batteries of emergency lights, to be smuggled by the accused and others, including Subhash, Mohammed Maqbool Sheikh, Chuna Ram, and Amjad Ali.
The NIA had filed a chargesheet against Mohabbat Ali on March 22, 2021, under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The agency had declared him as a “most wanted” person with a reward of ₹2 lakh for information leading to his arrest.
The accused was declared a Proclaimed Offender on March 17, 2021, by the NIA special court and a non-bailable warrant was also issued against him. “The NIA investigations have revealed that the accused had provided the gold bars to the carriers, Subhash and Maqbool Sheikh, to be smuggled from Riyadh to Jaipur,” said the agency.
