Raids at national shooter's house: DRI ropes in IT for probe

The DRI has roped in Income Tax department to look into the recovery of about Rs one crore cash from the house of a national-level shooter in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh during recent raids conducted by it.

The IT department will look into the source of the money recovered from the house, a DRI official said today.

A syndicate involved in gun-running and wildlife trade was busted on Sunday by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). Three accused including Slovenian national Boris Sobotic Mikolic have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the racket.

The trio were intercepted after their arrival at the IGI Airport here by a Turkish Airlines flight from Slovenia's capital Ljubljana via Istanbul on Saturday. They were carrying 25 illegally imported lethal weapons and other items worth about Rs. 4.5 crore with them, according to a senior DRI official.

They had incorrectly declared the quantity and value of the arms and ammunition to the customs officials and tried to get these items cleared by misusing the scheme meant for renowned shooters, he said. The rules permit professional shooters to import a limited quantity of arms and ammunition for practice.

The accused -- Amit Goyal, Anil Kumar Langan and Mikolic -- have been arrested for allegedly violating customs rules to evade payment of import duty, the official said. They have been sent to 14 days in judicial custody by a local court.

Following the detention of the accused, the DRI had carried out searches at multiple places including the house of the national-level shooter, Prashant Bishnoi, son of a retired army colonel, and seized over hundred illegally imported firearms, 117 kg of nilgai meat, horns and skins of leopards and blackbucks. The DRI officials said nothing specific has come out against the retired army officer.

Unaccounted cash of about Rs. one crore and two lakh cartridges were also seized during the searches. The firearms of various make and models -- Glock (Austria), Italy-made Beretta, Arsenal, Benelle and Blaser (Germany) -- were seized along with expensive cameras, thermal imaging binoculars and cartridges during the raids.