Surat: Owner of a leading angadia firm was worried for his six courier boys carrying polished diamonds worth around Rs 70 crore to Mumbai every day onboard the Gujarat Mail. This traditional train route to Mumbai was largely unknown until the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and income tax officials seized three truckloads of the valuables at Mumbai Central last week.
But since the seizure the angadia businessman has told his boys to take flights. Too many people now know of their modus operandi making them vulnerable to organized gangs and thieves. At least three leading angadia firms dealing in diamonds are playing it safe and transporting precious gems by air.
Before this, 80-odd nondescript courier boys would take the Gujarat Mail or Saurashtra Express to Mumbai daily and carry with them diamonds worth over Rs 500 crore. They would often be escorted by Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, but many believe the risk is too high now tha5t their cover is blown.
11/07/13 Melvyn Reggie Thomas/Times of India
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
But since the seizure the angadia businessman has told his boys to take flights. Too many people now know of their modus operandi making them vulnerable to organized gangs and thieves. At least three leading angadia firms dealing in diamonds are playing it safe and transporting precious gems by air.
Before this, 80-odd nondescript courier boys would take the Gujarat Mail or Saurashtra Express to Mumbai daily and carry with them diamonds worth over Rs 500 crore. They would often be escorted by Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, but many believe the risk is too high now tha5t their cover is blown.
11/07/13 Melvyn Reggie Thomas/Times of India
