A Scarborough man and a company have been fined $1 million in court for operating a smuggling ring that snuck expensive gold jewellery into Canada.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said Rahu Sinnathamby, and a company called Lovely Gold Inc., pleaded guilty in Brampton court last March to breaching two counts each under the Customs Act.

The smuggler was fined a total of $760,000, and he and the company ordered to pay $246,614 in regulatory penalties, according to a release from the CBSA.

They said a two-year investigation revealed that in October 2018 the parties enlisted travellers to bring gold jewellery as earrings, bracelets and other items from India to Canada.

The CBSA said evidence gathered during a two-year long investigation lead to the conviction of the man, and a corporation, for gold smuggling activities.

Investigators determined the ‘jewellery smuggling operation’ had been in operation for about 17 months and many smuggling trips were conducted.

The CBSA said in July 2018 the investigation identified a link to a separate traveller attempting to smuggle an even greater quantity of jewellery into Canada.

Court heard that the smugglers paid for the airline tickets of the travellers and ordered them not to declare the jewellery to border officials when they touched down at Pearson airport, where the scam was discovered.

“This successful prosecution highlights the tireless work and great investigative efforts of both CBSA border services officers and our criminal investigations team,” said Lisa Janes, the CBSA
Regional Director General. “The discovery of this jewellery smuggling scheme demonstrates our commitment to ensuring the integrity of Canada’s border laws and economy.”

Police said if you have information about the exploitation of the border for criminality, call the CBSA Border Watch Toll-free Line at 1-888-502-9060