An ED investigation into a gold-smuggling racket being operated across the India-China LAC has found that more than 1,000 kg of the yellow metal worth Rs 800 crore was illegally brought to India with the alleged involvement of a Chinese, some Tibetans and locals in 2023 and 2024.

The federal agency said in a statement that it initiated a probe into this criminal activity under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), following an instance of seizure of 108-kg foreign-origin gold bars by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) troops from along the said front in Ladakh in July last year during a patrol.

The border-guarding force had apprehended three locals following the seizure. The ITBP guards the 3,488-km-long India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said searches were carried out in connection with the case at five locations in the National Capital Region (NCR) and one place in Ladakh on Tuesday.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) also investigated this case (of the 108-kg gold bars) and its probe found that 1,064 kg of foreign-origin gold was transacted in this manner and payments were made through cryptocurrency (USDT/Tether), the ED said.

The DRI had detained 10 people under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (COFEPOSA) Act.

They are still in custody, the agency said.

The ED said its probe found that the smuggled foreign-origin gold was being sent "illicitly" by a Chinese national named Bhu-Chum-Chum to a person named Tendu Tashi in India via the LAC (in the Tibet sector).

Tashi is the "mastermind" and responsible for arranging the entire logistics for the transportation of the smuggled gold bars from Ladakh to Delhi.

It was found that a resident of Tibet, Tenzin Khandap, was the "designated recipient" of the gold from the Chinese national and was tasked with transporting the said gold up to the LAC and handing it over to Indian porters on the Chinese side.

On Tashi's instructions, the ED alleged, a man named Tenzin Samphel (Khandap's uncle) recruited two porters to collect the said 108-kg gold from China.

"Tashi has successfully smuggled 1,064 kg of gold worth Rs 800 crore into India from the China border with the help of the other members of his gold-smuggling syndicate during 2023-2024.

"The smuggled gold was used to be delivered to individuals in Delhi, who in turn used to sell it to various gold jewellers/dealers in Delhi," the agency said.

The payments for "purchasing" the gold were used to be made to Bhu-Chum-Chum on the Chinese side through cryptocurrency, it added.

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