Nov 19: In a case which had more than its share of drama, officers of the Preventive Wing of Mumbai Customs on Wednesday arrested two exporters for allegedly misdeclaring bulk pharmaceutical drugs exports to Russia and for fraudulently claiming DEPB credit to the tune of Rs six crore.The two, S S Sandhu and Ajay Vyas of Knomo Exports Ltd, were on Thursday produced before additional chief metropolitan magistrate Usha Iyer. Both have been remanded to judicial custody till December 2. Customs, in fact, told the court they suspect the exports are fake.According to the remand application, the duo also obstructed officers who had gone to their residence at Shimla House, Napeansea Road, in the course of raids on various premises of the company. Local police had to be called in by the Customs team to get access to the premises.The raids also covered the three front companies of Knomo Exports, viz, Pragati Sales Corporation, Sharp Medicals and Samarth Enterprises, all in Dombivli, as also the residence ofPrashant Divekar, `proprietor' of the firms.The accused, through the three firms, claimed to have been exporters of bulk drugs of a total FOB value of Rs 29.10 crore to M/S Tallan Exports, Russia. The DEPB copy of the shippings bills of the three firms indicate that the shipping bills have been tampered with, the material details having been erased.The manufacturers of the drugs (as declared in the export documents), when asked, said either that they had not supplied the drugs to these firms or had not manufacured them at all, putting the genuineness of the remittance of over Rs 29 crore received by Knomo Exports in doubt, customs has alleged.Some of the suspected conspirators are still at large, and vital evidence may have been destroyed during the three hours that the accused prevented the officers from entering their house, the remand application claimed.
