Kolkata, Feb 10 (IANS) A total of 46 diamonds with a market value of about 4.5 crore rupees were recovered from a person at the Bagdogra airport in West Bengal’s Siliguri on Tuesday.

The name of the arrested person is Deepak Kumar Mahasuklal Mehta alias Deepak Kumar Mehta.

His home is in Delhi.

He was produced to a court on Tuesday, which remanded him in judicial custody.

Centre’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has achieved great success in conducting this raid after receiving a tip-off that diamonds would be smuggled by air.

After receiving that information from a tip-off, the investigators started surveillance.

Sources said that the DRI spread a net at the Bagdogra Airport and the person was caught red-handed there.

The accused, Deepak Kumar Mehta, had come to the airport to catch a flight on that day.

The investigators became suspicious after seeing him.

He was soon detained and started questioning him.

The man, however, kept his mouth shut.

Later, when his luggage was checked, the huge quantity of diamonds came out.

The diamonds were kept in a packet inside the luggage.

It is learnt that they did not have any documents.

Finally, the person was arrested and the diamonds were confiscated.

It is learnt that a total of 46 diamonds were being smuggled, the market value of which is 4 crore 33 lakh rupees.

Sources said that the diamond was brought to Siliguri by road from Nepal.

The precious diamond was being smuggled to Delhi by air from Bagdogra.

DRI lawyer Ratan Banik said, “A total of 808.33 carats or 161.66 grams of diamonds were recovered. The accused was arrested and produced before the Siliguri court. The court has ordered him to be remanded in judicial custody till February 24. Whether anyone else is involved in the incident and from whom was this diamond brought and where was the plan to smuggle it… these are being investigated.”

–IANS

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