The Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) has made a preliminary conclusion that Rakesh Adukia is the kingpin behind 100 kilos of gold smuggled into Nepal.
The gold brought from Hong Kong to Kathmandu under the name of Ready Trade Pvt. Ltd. was seized by the DRI team on July 18 at Sinamangal outside the Tribhuvan International Airport.
Traders Adukia, Deepak Malhotra and Sanjay Babaiya were dragged under the DRI's investigation radar ever since the gold was seized.
The DRI team that conducted a parallel investigation on the three persons concluded after 17 days that Adukiya is the main smuggler of the 100 kilos of gold. But it is not clear where Rakesh was delivering this gold.
However, since the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Nepali Police will conduct further investigation into this gold case. There is a possibility that new facts will be unfolded in the days ahead.
"The initial conclusion of our investigation is that this gold belongs to Rakesh Adukia," an officer assigned to the investigation told Nepalkhabar.
Adukia has been out of touch since the day the gold was recovered in Nepal. It is alleged that he has been involved in smuggling gold since 25 years ago.
"While looking for the owner of 100 kilos of gold, we observed some suspicious activities of Adukia and came to the conclusion that this gold belongs to him," the officer added, "we will submit a report in a few days mentioning the facts we have found."
Adukia while speaking to Nepalkhabar has claimed that the gold is not his. He says that his name was used to protect the main smuggler and divert the matter.
With the permission of the CIB to investigate the gold smuggling case under organized crime, the investigation will proceed in a new way.
If the CIB also finds evidence, Adukia will be charged with organized crime and revenue evasion.
Adukia was found traveling to Hong Kong and UAE using an Indian passport. In the last nine months, he has traveled back and forth between Nepal and Hong Kong 14 times.
From September 2022 to July 2023, Adukia has traveled to Hong Kong from Nepal 14 times, shows the airport immigration records.
Although Adukia is a Nepali, it seems that he got a passport from the Indian mission in Hong Kong on July 3, 2010. His passport was renewed on July 10, 2018.
It is not clear how Adukia, who is doing business with Nepali citizenship, got an Indian passport.
On July 5, Adukiya came to Nepal from Hong Kong via Dubai. Nine days later, about 1 quintal of gold was seized by the DRI imported from Hong Kong.
After recovering the gold, the DRI has detained 19 people and taken their statements in the course of finding the owner. All of them have been kept in the custody of District Police Range, Lalitpur and Sanepa Police Station.
The DRI receives 'clue' after the arrest of Dawa
Revenue has raided Sohrakhutte, Baluwatar, Thamel and Tokha in Kathmandu and seized various materials used to cast gold.
Dawa Chhiring was arrested by the DRI on July 29 after he was found smuggling gold while staying at Hotel Vienna in Thamel.
After arresting him, the DRI found some clues about the gold owner. Revenue has taken control of the hotel's documents.
The DRI team stepped up surveillance after discovering that Dawa was using Hotel Vienna to work with gold smugglers. Before that, a Chinese national, Zeqiang Lin, was arrested on July 20 after a connection was found with around 100 kg of gold.
The smugglers used to take the gold imported into Nepal and take it to the gold casting plant in Baluwatar for processing. His factory has been sealed by the DRI.
It is revealed that Lin and Dawa have been in contact since before. The DRI made the arrest after it was found that there was a meeting between Dawa and Lin at Hotel Vienna in Thamel before the arrest.
A source at the DRI suggests that Dawa himself may have managed Adukia's gold. However, more facts are being gathered.
Dawa is a Belgian citizen of Tibetan origin. Citizenship issued by the Kavre District Administration Office of Nepal and a passport based on that have been found with him.
Both the mobiles used by Dawa have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory of Nepal Police.
"We have sent the two mobile phones used by Dawa to the forensic lab, it may reveal more new facts," said the officer, "where and who had his connection with whom can be revealed." So far, Dawa is not ready to reveal anything in the statement.
Thamel is a hotbed of crime. He might be doing illegal business by staying in a Vienna hotel in such a place. No one will be allowed to enter that hotel,” he added.
Business of Babaiya Group: Processing gold, supplying it to the market
The revenue team has also found the fact that a group called Babaiya is working in the management of smuggled gold in Nepal.
While searching for the owner of 100 kilos of gold, it was found that the smuggled gold that entered Nepal through Hong Kong was being sent to the market by the same group, Director General of the DRI Nawaraj Dhungana informed.
"Babaiya Group is doing the work of extracting the gold concealed in various goods by smugglers, changing its form and sending it to the market," he told Nepalkhabar, "It was found that both retail and wholesale are done by the same group."
According to him, the group manages all smugglers' gold in Nepal.
It is estimated that 7.5 quintals of gold imported into Nepal in the last two months have been supplied to the Nepali market and the Indian market by the same group.
Four to five groups in gold smuggling
It has been many years since gold smuggling started in Nepal. Gold has been smuggled continuously since the establishment of the multi-party democracy. However, the discourse hit the headlines after a large quantity of gold was seized outside the Tribhuvan International Airport recently.
According to the DRI, at least four or five groups were involved in the recent smuggling case.
