Over 32 kg gold worth Rs 20 crore recovered from sea; smuggling bid foiled

An India Coast Guard official said during the joint operation, it was revealed that the gold was thrown overboard which was successfully retrieved from seabed.

Chennai:In a joint operation by the Indian Coast Guard with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Customs seized 32.689 kg of gold worth around Rs 20.2 crore which was thrown into the sea from two fishing boats at the Gulf of Mannar area off Tamil Nadu, said officials on Thursday. The consignment was being smuggled into India from Sri Lanka.

An India Coast Guard official said during the joint operation, it was revealed that the gold was thrown overboard which was successfully retrieved from seabed. "In coordination with DRI thwarted the smuggling of an illegal transhipment of gold in Gulf of Mannar. Joint rummaging revealed that gold was thrown overboard which was successfully retrieved from the seabed. It resulted in seizure of 32 kg 869.7g of gold worth Rs.20.2 Cr," India Coast Guard tweeted.

In a similar incident in February this year, the Indian Coast Guard seized a gold consignment of 17.74 kg worth approximately Rs 10.5 crore from Mandapam seashore in Tamil Nadu while the consignment was being smuggled from Sri Lanka by sea route.

According to an official statement, based on intelligence input from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Chennai, Indian Coast Guard Station Mandapam deployed a joint team onboard Interceptor Boat (IB) C-432 on February 7.

"The team maintained surveillance in the Gulf of Mannar for two days for any suspicious activity. On the night of February 8, the IB boarded a suspicious boat which was trying to escape at high speed to evade interception. On rummaging the boat, the suspected contraband was not found and it was suspected that same was thrown overboard during interception," the statement said.

A diving operation was conducted by the ICG team in the probable area and a consignment of 17.74 kg of gold was recovered from the sea bed.