Indore, Feb 11 (PTI) More than three decades after 3,000 kg of silver was smuggled from abroad, the district court in Indore on Tuesday convicted nine individuals and handed them two-year rigorous imprisonment.
Special Judicial Magistrate Jai Kumar Jain also imposed a Rs 5,000 fine on each of the convicts under the Customs Act 1962.
The court also directed that the seized consignment of silver be confiscated through the Reserve Bank, a prosecution official said.
The prosecution said law enforcement agencies seized 3,041.50 kg of foreign silver on February 27, 1992, from an industrial area located on the Sanwer Road in Indore.
The official said the court found the accused guilty of smuggling silver into India, melting it, and holding it in their possession to evade the Customs duty.
Special Public Prosecutor Chandan Airan, representing the Central Excise and Customs Department, presented six witnesses during the trial.
The convicts are identified as Om Prakash Neema, Nitin Kumar Soni, Amrik Singh, Shashipal Mishra, Aman Soni, Madhusudan Mishra, Suresh, Dinesh Katlana and Amarlal.