DRI seizes 85 kg smuggled gold from Delhi airport; Chinese national, 3 others apprehended
New Delhi, Nov 19: Over 80 kg gold worth nearly Rs 40 crore, being smuggled into the country by concealing it inside imported machinery parts, has been seized by DRI officials at the airport here, according to an official statement issued on Friday.
Four foreign nationals -- two South Koreans, one Chinese and a Taiwanese have been apprehended in the case, it said.
Later, in a swift follow-up operation, further recovery of 5.409 kgs of foreign-origin gold smuggled into India adopting a similar modus operandi, was made from a Delhi-based jeweller, the statement issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said.
The recovered gold, totally weighing 85.535 kgs, valued at approximately Rs 42 crore, has been seized, it said.
In an intelligence operation code-named molten metal', several Indian and foreign (Chinese, Taiwanese, South-Korean) nationals suspected to be indulging in smuggling gold into India from Hong Kong using the air cargo route, were identified, the DRI said.
The intelligence indicated that the gold smuggled in the form of machinery parts was being melted and moulded into bar/cylinder shapes before being disposed of in the local market, it said.
Acting upon the said intelligence, DRI officers examined an import consignment at the air cargo complex of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here.
During the examination, the consignment was found to contain electroplating machines fitted with transformers. The EI' laminates of the transformers were found to have been made of gold coated with nickel, essentially to hide the identity of the gold, the statement said.
Approximately, 1 kg of gold was recovered from each of the 80 imported electroplating machines, it said.
Further, during search operations conducted in several rented properties in Chattarpur and Gurgaon, four foreign nationals (two from South Korea and one each from China and Taiwan) were found to be using sophisticated metallurgical techniques to convert the smuggled gold in the form of EI' laminates into bar/cylindrical form for further distribution, the probe agency said.
These activities were being conducted by the foreign nationals in rented farmhouses/apartments in plush localities in South Delhi and Gurgaon, and extreme precautions were taken to keep the illegal nature of their activities hidden even from their immediate neighbours, the DRI said.
The four foreign nationals involved in the smuggling activities have been apprehended and are being questioned, it said.
During questioning, it has been revealed that two of the foreign nationals had stuck up a close relationship while being behind bars for their previous offenses of gold smuggling, the statement said, adding that further investigation is in progress.
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 85.535 kgs of gold valued at about Rs 42 crores. The gold smuggled in form of machinery parts was being melted & moulded into bar/cylinder shapes before being disposed of in the local market: DRI pic.twitter.com/mVJx4UN9x3
— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2021
Search operations were conducted in several properties in Chattarpur (Delhi) and Gurugram (Haryana). Four foreign nationals, two from South Korea and one each from China and Taiwan, have been arrested: DRI pic.twitter.com/mLcCKDaPiI
— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2021
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
===================
The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
