A wanted accused facing Interpol Red Notice repatriated from Saudi Arabia: CBI

A wanted accused in the NIA's gold smuggling case, facing an Interpol Red Notice, was repatriated from Saudi Arabia in an operation coordinated by the CBI, officials said on Thursday, 4 April.

The Global Operations Centre of the Central Bureau of Investigation has coordinated via Interpol channels with the National Central Bureau-Riyadh for the return of Shokat Ali to Mumbai from Saudi Arabia on Wednesday night, the CBI spokesperson said.

Ali was wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a gold smuggling case registered in 2020 related to the seizure of smuggled gold bars at Jaipur International Airport, Rajasthan.

"During investigation it had been found that accused Shokat Ali had conspired with his co-accused in illegal smuggling of gold bars from Saudi Arabia into India," the official said.

He was booked under stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) pertaining to offences of unlawful activities and criminal conspiracy and was earlier geo-located in Saudi Arabia with close follow-up through Interpol, he said.

The CBI got a Red Notice issued against him from the Interpol General Secretariat on September 13, 2021. The Red Notice was circulated to all Interpol member countries to locate and arrest the accused, the spokesperson said in a statement.