NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday said that it has coordinated with the NIA and the INTERPOL to ensure the return of a key operator of an international gold smuggling syndicate with a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against him from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Officials in the central agency said Muniyad Ali Khan is the third fugitive in the case, who was successfully brought back to India. Khan landed at the Jaipur airport from the UAE and was arrested by the NIA, as he was wanted in an NIA case, they added.
In the case investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), it was alleged that Khan had conspired in the illegal smuggling of gold bars from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, into India along with other accused, the officials said.
Two other accused in the case, Shokat Ali and Mohabbat Ali, were brought from Saudi Arabia on April 3, 2024 and August 17, 2023, respectively in an operation coordinated by the Global Operations Centre of the CBI with Interpol NCB-Riyadh and the NIA, the officials said.
In the case, the NIA has alleged that Khan along with the co-accused had provided gold bars to be smuggled from Riyadh into Jaipur.
“Gold bars weighing 18.56 kilograms worth Rs 9 crore in the market were seized while being smuggled into India at the Jaipur airport from Saudi Arabia in 2020 as part of the ‘criminal conspiracy to derail the country’s economic security and monetary stability’”, the NIA had said in a statement on August 17, 2023. The bars had been concealed inside a battery of emergency lights for smuggling into India, it had added.
“Khan is found to be involved in international gold smuggling from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to Jaipur, India. A charge sheet was filed against the deported subject by the NIA on March 22, 2021, before a Special Court in Jaipur. He was wanted for criminal conspiracy for offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,” a senior CBI officer said.
The CBI got an RCN issued against Khan from the INTERPOL on September 13, 2021, at a request from the NIA, which was circulated to all law enforcement agencies globally for tracking of the wanted criminal, the officials said, adding that it resulted in locating Khan in the UAE.