Surat: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Surat Sub-Zonal Office, has provisionally attached proceeds of crime in the form of natural and lab-grown diamonds worth ₹204.62 crore belonging to Meet Kanubhai Kachhadiya of M/s Universal Gems under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002. This action comes four years after the initial seizure of these diamonds by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and Customs officials.

It is learnt that Meet Kachhadiya allegedly collected natural diamonds from multiple suppliers in Surat and exported them to Hong Kong, thereby evading export duties. In return, he reportedly earned a commission on these shipments.

In May 2021, acting on a tip-off, officials from the DRI and Customs intercepted two shipments belonging to Kachhadiya’s company just outside the Sachin Special Economic Zone (SEZ). During inspection, discrepancies were found: while documents declared one consignment as weighing 12,000 carats, it actually weighed 26,000 carats. Similarly, the second consignment was declared at 20,000 carats instead of its actual 27,000 carats. Both shipments were seized.

Subsequent testing at a government-notified diamond grading laboratory confirmed that the seized diamonds were natural, cut, and polished. The diamonds were intended to be exported via Mumbai airport to a buyer in Hong Kong.

Following the seizure, Kachhadiya was arrested under various sections of the Customs Act and sent to judicial custody before being granted bail. Officials also sealed his company. Some of the seized diamonds were solitaires, while others were fancy shapes like ovals and hearts, and many carried GIA certification numbers.

During questioning by Customs officials, Kachhadiya admitted to operating a lab-grown diamond unit inside the Surat SEZ and confessed to exporting natural diamonds instead of lab-grown ones, which command significantly higher prices. DeshGujarat