Mumbai: Translator Helps DRI Uncover Details Of Gold-Smuggling Syndicate Allegedly Controlled By Chinese Operatives

Mumbai police have uncovered a gold smuggling syndicate allegedly controlled by Chinese operatives, thanks to the efforts of a Mandarin-speaking translator. On September 10, 2026, Chinese national Cheng Wing Hing was arrested in connection with the gold smuggling case. The Director of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officers faced difficulty extracting information from Hing due to his limited English proficiency.

They turned to a Mandarin translator who helped unravel details of the syndicate and its operations. Intelligence indicated that a consignment imported by a private company from Hong Kong into Mumbai's Air Cargo Complex on September 2 was involved in hiding the contraband gold. The 691.870 grams of gold, valued at Rs 1.10 crore, was recovered from the treadmill motor.

The consignment was destined for a commercial premises in Andheri (East), where DRI officers found several dismantled treadmills and tools seized by the team. Hing, a foreign national, was arrested on September 6 when he arrived at the hotel to collect the belongings of Hugo Law, the coordinator of the consignment. Hing revealed that he had met Law in Hong Kong about three months prior to his visit to India.

Law had informed Hing about the gold smuggling operation and offered him monetary consideration for assisting in dismantling the machines and extracting the hidden gold. Hing admitted to receiving payments of Rs 1.25 lakh and Rs 1.24 lakh from Law and going to his hotel room on September 5 to collect a rented vehicle and dismantling tools to extract the gold.