CHENNAI: An imported luxury car worth more than a crore seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) here for customs duty evasion, initially sparked off rumours over its ownership as DRI officials were tight-lipped over the antecedents of the vehicle.The car, which was seized last Friday in Velachery, was covered with a tarpaulin sheet and parked in front of the office. When journalists tried to have a look at the vehicle, the watchman shooed them away.Adding to the speculation, DRI officials were using a separate gate to avoid the media’s prying eyes. Also, an SMS was on circulation that the car belonged to a top DMK functionary’s relative.It was only after a group of press photographers and TV cameramen barged through the gate after it was opened for an official to enter that they agreed to a photo shoot. A few photographers lifted the tarpaulin while trying to get the registration number, but to their surprise the car was a Maserati, which only a few in India own. “We got a tip-off from the Ahmedabad DRI about the car changing hands from Ahmedabad to Chennai and the duty evasion by the owner,” said C Rajan, Additional Director General, DRI, Chennai. The seizure comes in the wake of a nationwide raid that began in April after the DRI unearthed a car import racket involving celebrities, politicians and industrialists. But, he said they were only acting on a tip-off. “It is about duty evasion by one Basheer Mohammed which only the Ahmedabad DRI officials will be able to tell,” he said. Actors Amitabh Bachchan, business tycoons Vijay Mallya and Anil Ambani are among other Maserati owners.
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