A 47-year-old man was arrested on charges of smuggling 204 pieces of rough diamonds valued at Rs 22 lakhs in Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband district, police said on Sunday.
Speaking to The Pioneer over telephone, Gariband Superintendent of Police Parul Mathur identified the smuggler as Neelam Das Kashyap of Buddhupara village in the district.
Acting on a tip, the man was apprehended near a grocery shop in Bardula village.
The police swung into action after learning that a man with a huge quantity of rough diamonds was headed towards Mainpur from Deobahog, a diamond-rich belt in Gariaband, she said.
The police also seized his motorcycle and mobile phone.
Prima facie, it seems he illegally brought the diamonds from the Deobhog area.