DRI seizes gold worth Rs 7 crore smuggled into India from Myanmar, six accused held

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 17

After the high-profile gold smuggling racket was busted by the customs department in Kerala, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized smuggled precious metal worth Rs 7 crore from three locations in the country and arrested six persons in this connection.

Officials in the revenue intelligence agency said on Friday that the seizures were made in three separate operations in Assam, Bihar and West Bengal, as the gold consignments were being smuggled into India from Myanmar. In the process six people, who are natives of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, have been arrested, as the consignments were found from their possession.  

A senior DRI official said, “The seized gold bars are of foreign origin and were being carried to Delhi by passengers travelling in buses via Guwahati, Siliguri and Patna.”

The DRI personnel found the smuggled gold concealed in specially-made cavities in the handles of the stroller bags, which the arrested persons were carrying as passengers, the officials said, adding that they also hiding the precious metals inside the underwear/waist belts worn by them.

Giving details of the cases, the agency officials said two persons, who were coming from Guwahati via Siliguri and Patna, were intercepted at Jewar toll plaza on the Yamuna Expressway. The agency recovered around 4.98 kg of smuggled gold bars from them, they said.

Two other passengers were intercepted by the officials at Siliguri (West Bengal) bus station when they were boarding a bus bound for Patna and seized from them 30 smuggled foreign-origin gold bars, collectively weighing 4.98 kg, the officials said, adding that in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur two persons were intercepted as they travelled first from Guwahati to Patna and from them a total of 24 gold bars, weighing 3.98 kg were seized.

“In this well-coordinated operation, approximately 14 kg of smuggled gold bars were seized which have a market value of around Rs 7 crore,” the official said.