DRI seizes 9.2-kg gold worth Rs 4 cr from Amritsar airport

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Amritsar, March 1

The local unit of Director of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized gold weighing 9.2-kg from Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, Amritsar, sources revealed on Tuesday.

Those arrested are in the age group of 22 to 23 years. They alighted from a flight from Sharjah (UAE) on February 25 morning. They even managed to cross all checkpoints as various government agencies deployed at the airport couldn’t find anything suspicious. The DRI officials, however, got suspicious and intercepted them. During detailed frisking, they found gold concealed inside the wigs of the trio. The accused were arrested immediately. After weighing, the DRI officials found that they were carrying 9.2-kg gold.

The DRI has arrested three persons in this regard. Two of them are from Gurdaspur, while one is from Jalandhar. They landed in Amritsar on February 25.

The officials claimed that gold seized was worth Rs4 crore in the market. According to sources, those arrested were in the age group of 22 to 23 years. They alighted from a flight from Sharjah (UAE) on February 25 morning. They managed to cross all checkpoints as various government agencies deployed at the airport couldn’t find anything suspicious. The DRI officials, however, got suspicious and intercepted them. During detailed frisking, they found gold concealed inside the wigs of the trio. The accused were arrested immediately. After weighing, the DRI officials found that they were carrying 9.2-kg gold.

After being arrested, the trio was produced in court, where the court sent them in judicial custody. Sources said two of the accused travelled to the UAE for the first time.

It is worth mentioning here that the government agencies at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport regularly seize gold from passengers from Dubai. The gold smugglers adopt innovative techniques to ferry the yellow metal.