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Hyderabad: Smuggler, daughter stayed in 5-star hotel

Officials said Nasreen had obtained a divorce from her husband a few years ago and was taking care of their teenage daughter.

Hyderabad: Standing at around 6 feet tall, Ziaunnisa Nasreen, who is in her early 40s was running the smuggling racket on her own for more than six months, officials said. A resident of Hyderabad, she was a frequent traveller abroad, especially to Dubai.

Officials said Nasreen had obtained a divorce from her husband a few years ago and was taking care of their teenage daughter.

DRI sleuths who are questioning Nasreen feel that she would have started smuggling gold as a courier.

After certain successful deals, she learned the process and emerged as a lone wolf operator.

Officials said that during questioning, Nasreen claimed to be an advocate working abroad and was arrogant towards the police officials. She remained tight-lipped for most of the questioning related to gold smuggling.

The few details that Nasreen gave during questioning shocked DRI officials.

She was staying along with her daughter at a five-star hotel in Banjara Hills for at least three months, and was keeping the earnings from smuggling there.

“She speaks good English. She is tough to break. She is running the racket alone with a capital estimated at about Rs 4.5 crore. She smuggles the gold, roams around the markets in the city and sells it. The money earned is converted into foreign currency which is used to purchase gold smuggle to India,” a source told this newspaper.

So far, the DRI sleuths have arrested 65 carriers in the last one-and-a-half years, and eight receivers of smuggled gold. Still, this was the most unique case.

Responding to a query, an official from DRI said that, “In most of the cases, it is very hard to find the receiver of the gold. Once the gold has arrived, it changes hands five to six times before it reaches the receiver.”

“The case busted on Tuesday is peculiar, as the woman offender was running the racket alone. She has smuggled gold several times in the past, but it is her first arrest,” he said.

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