Cars abandoned over Delhi import racket: report
NEW DELHI: A Bentley and an Aston Martin car have been abandoned in New Delhi as Indian police probe a racket in which Asian diplomats import luxury vehicles and then sell them on, press reports said Sunday.
The Hindustan Times said the two cars, valued at between $300,000 and $640,000 each, were found after police seized more than 40 luxury vehicles during their investigations.
Officials from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) told the newspaper that the cars were brought into India by Asian diplomats, who can import them for personal use without paying hefty customs duties.
The vehicles were then sold illegally to their new owners, who abandoned them in panic as news spread that police were closing the net around the racket. One man has been arrested by detectives.
"The investigation is at a sensitive stage," R.K. Sharma, a senior DRI official, told the Hindustan Times.
India's luxury car market has recently seen the arrival of Ferrari, Aston Martin and Lamborghini showrooms but heavy import tariffs imposed on foreign vehicles have dissuaded all but the richest buyers.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011
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