On 5/9, the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City sentenced Dapale Alkesh Kashinath to 7 years in prison and fined him 50 million VND for smuggling. Kashinath requested to pay a fine instead of serving jail time, but the court rejected this request because he couldn't prove he had a bank account or funds in Vietnam.
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Defendant Dapale Alkesh Kashinath in court. Photo: Binh Nguyen |
Defendant Dapale Alkesh Kashinath in court. Photo: Binh Nguyen
Kashinath, an employee of Sun Rays Company (Mumbai, India) since 2017, earned a monthly salary of approximately 25,000 Rupees (about 7.5 million VND). The company, owned by Pratik Kirit Mehta, specializes in diamond trading. Following Mehta's instructions, Kashinath made multiple trips smuggling diamonds from India to Vietnam, earning around 10,000 Rupees (3 million VND) per trip.
On 25/10/2024, Kashinath transported 350 diamonds to Hong Kong, picked up an additional 12 diamonds there, and then entered Vietnam via Tan Son Nhat Airport without declaring the goods to customs.
Ho Chi Minh City's Economic Police Department, in coordination with airport customs and Tan Binh District Police, inspected Kashinath's luggage. X-rays revealed 15 nylon packages containing diamonds hidden inside two candy boxes. Authorities confiscated and documented the diamonds for further investigation.
An appraisal confirmed the seized diamonds were natural and worth nearly 8.5 billion VND.
Authorities determined that between 4/2024 and his arrest, Kashinath made 6 to 7 trips, delivering diamonds to various customers in Vietnam, but he didn't keep records of the recipients.
In court, Kashinath admitted to acting on his employer's orders. Upon arrival in Vietnam, he was to stay at a hotel booked by Pratik Kirit Mehta. Customers would be informed of the time and place for the exchange. Kashinath would only hand over the diamonds after the customer presented the correct code provided by Mehta. "Payments for the diamonds were made directly to Mehta, either before or after delivery. I didn't have any information about the recipients," Kashinath explained, requesting leniency due to his year-long detainment and desire to return to his family.
Hai Duyen
