DRI busts gold smuggling syndicate, seizes 31.7 Kg gold worth Rs 19 crore

New Delhi: In a pan-India operation, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) busted a syndicate involved in the smuggling of foreign-origin gold through land route and train routes and seized a huge quantity of smuggled gold weighing around 31.7 Kg valued at around Rs 19 crores in a meticulously planned and well-coordinated operation on October 13-14 at Varanasi, Nagpur and Mumbai.
"The Nagpur Team apprehended two carriers of gold when they alighted at Nagpur railway station from a train that started from Kolkata. 8.5 Kg foreign marked gold was recovered from them. From their interrogation, two receivers of the smuggled gold were also identified and apprehended," read the release.
"The Varanasi Team managed to apprehend two of the accused and the car when they were travelling in UP, with the help of local police, after a 3-hour dramatic chase on the road and a search operation inside the forest. About 18.2 Kg of gold was recovered from the two persons and from a cavity made below the hand brake of the car," added the release.
The Mumbai Team managed to trace 5 accused on the roads of Mumbai after they had travelled from Varanasi by train, carrying gold. 4.9 Kg of gold was recovered from them.
This syndicate used to smuggle gold brought into India via the borders of Bangladesh and further diverted the same to Mumbai, Nagpur, Varanasi etc.
With due diligence and a coordinated plan of action, a total of 11 persons have been arrested, out of which 5 people were arrested in Mumbai, 2 in Varanasi and 4 in Nagpur. These 11 accused persons cover offenders at all rungs of the gold smuggling syndicate namely passengers, handlers, and final recipients of the smuggled gold.
This operation once again shows the ability of DRI to work in a professional way to unearth syndicates posing a threat to the economic security of the country. It also highlights the fruits of inter-agency cooperation in such a pan-India operation.