Overview
- CBI teams searched the airport cargo office and multiple Chennai locations, seized documents, and examined the XRF spectrometer used for gold purity checks.
- Investigators say the DFIA scheme was misused by importing 24-carat gold for supposed conversion to 22-carat ornaments, then exporting gold‑plated base metal while selling genuine gold in the domestic market.
- Officials estimate the fraud caused losses exceeding ₹1,000 crore annually between 2020 and 2022.
- The FIR lists five Customs superintendents, a jewellery assessor, a customs agent, and four manufacturers, including J. Sureshkumar, Alok Shukla, P. Tulasiram, N. Samuel, Mariyappan, Deepak Siroya, Santosh Kothari, Sunil Parmar, and Sunil Sharma.
- CRI first flagged the operation in 2022 after spotting shipping anomalies to Gulf destinations, and CBI sources say more individuals could come under scrutiny as the investigation progresses.