Mumbai News

Mumbai DRI arrests 2 in Surat for ‘duty evasion’ – The Indian Express

Mumbai-based DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence) officials busted a syndicate involved in the illegal import of insecticides and arrested two persons in Surat Friday. The officials raided a firm that manufactures intermediates for insecticides at Pipodara GIDC in Surat and arrested two owners. Rs 70 lakh was also seized from the accused during the raid.

The accused – Suresh Vasoya, 36, and his cousin Rajesh Vasoya, 42, both residents of the Mota Varachha area in Surat – were produced before a Surat court, which granted the DRI a two-day transit remand of the accused Saturday. The accused have been booked under Sections 132, 135(1)(a), and 135(1)(b) of the Customs Act.

Apart from Suresh Vasoya and Rajesh Vasoya, the firm has two other partners – Mathur Vasoya (another cousin) and Suresh Gami. The DRI officials also questioned one Pravin Patidar, a close aide of Suresh Vasoya.

The officials said the racket was operating since 2016 and insecticides worth Rs 300 crore were illegally imported, resulting in evasion of customs duty to the tune of Rs 100 crore.

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Notably, DRI officials had seized an imported consignment of vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer at Nhava Sheva port in Mumbai recently, but upon lab testing it was found that the substance was actually an insecticide/pesticide. The consignment was purportedly imported from China. The DRI carried out the raid in Surat in connection to the consignment haul in Mumbai.

Officials claimed that illegally imported insecticides were sold in the domestic market and the financial transactions were conducted through non-banking channels like angadia firms.

DRI sources said the syndicate had been carrying out the domestic sale of imported insecticides through Satnam Enterprise, Pooja Enterprise, and Gopal Exim.

Source: https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiXWh0dHBzOi8vaW5kaWFuZXhwcmVzcy5jb20vYXJ0aWNsZS9jaXRpZXMvc3VyYXQvbXVtYmFpLWRyaS1hcnJlc3RzLXN1cmF0LWR1dHktZXZhc2lvbi04MzU0MjM2L9IBYmh0dHBzOi8vaW5kaWFuZXhwcmVzcy5jb20vYXJ0aWNsZS9jaXRpZXMvc3VyYXQvbXVtYmFpLWRyaS1hcnJlc3RzLXN1cmF0LWR1dHktZXZhc2lvbi04MzU0MjM2L2xpdGUv?oc=5