DRI seizes 12 kg of smuggled gold in Bengal; 5 held

Acting on specific inputs, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized nearly 12 kgs of gold worth 6.22 crore after conducting raids in Kolkata and North Bengal. The agency has also arrested five people in connection with smuggling of the gold.

Kolkata: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized nearly 12 kg of smuggled gold valued at around Rs 6.22 crore in a couple of non-related operations at two ends of West Bengal and arrested five persons, the agency said on Saturday.

Based on specific intelligence inputs, DRI officials conducted an operation in Kolkata on Thursday and another one at Siliguri in north Bengal on Friday.

They seized 6.882 kg and 4.980 kg of smuggled gold from Kolkata and Siliguri respectively.

In the first case, the officials stopped a car on Bangur Avenue after a chase and recovered 42 gold biscuits weighing 6.882 kg and worth Rs 3.62 crore from it, the DRI said in a statement here.

The occupant of the car admitted during interrogation that he was carrying gold smuggled from Bangladesh.

The DRI also seized Rs 88.17 lakh in cash from his residence and two other locations. The money was part of sale proceeds of gold smuggled in the past, the statement said.

Following interrogation, the person, his father and an employee of them were arrested.

In the second operation, the DRI intercepted a car near Darjeeling More in Siliguri and found inside it 30 gold biscuits weighing 4.980 kg and valued at Rs 2.60 crore, which were smuggled from Myanmar.

Two persons who were in the vehicle were from Manipur and they were arrested.

The agency said that in 2019-20, it seized about 300 kg of gold, valued at more than Rs 115 crore, in West Bengal and Sikkim.

The DRI, which functions under the Ministry of Finance, is the apex intelligence and investigative agency for matters relating to the violation of the Customs Act.

PTI