Imphal: Manipur Police on Saturday arrested three individuals involved in a gold counterfeiting racket at Hangoon area under Mayang Imphal police station in Kakching district.
The trio were identified as Shivaji Gaikwad, 39, son of Bhaskar Gaikwad, a resident of Belavade in Sangli, Maharashtra; Jalindar Shamrao Jadhav, 42, son of Shamrao Jadhav from Mohi, Khanapur Taluka, also in Sangli, Maharashtra; and Ramdas Tanaji Khandare, 37, son of Tanaji Khandare, a resident of Isawar Dutta Lane in Howrah, West Bengal.
They were involved in a well-planned criminal conspiracy to produce counterfeit gold bars. They used impure materials and fraudulently stamped the bars with fake trademarks to present them as pure gold. They were operating with the help of specialized equipment designed to manufacture gold bars of varying weights, posing a serious threat to unsuspecting consumers and local markets, said police.
The law enforcement officials seized an array of tools and machinery used in the illegal manufacturing process. They included a hydraulic machine, a Noman-brand melting machine, 94 graphite crucibles of different sizes, tongs, carbon rods, bottles of nitric acid, a SPICA hydraulic power pack, carbon rod holders, and a Mastech AC/DC clamp meter.
The arrests have disrupted a wider network involved in the distribution of counterfeit gold, and further investigations are underway to uncover the full extent of the operation and any potential links to interstate or organized financial crime syndicates, police said.
