New Delhi: Revenue Intelligence officers have seized 17.74 kilograms of gold valued at over Rs 10 crore from seabed off the Tamil Nadu coast, after it was thrown by smugglers from a fishing boat. In a joint operation, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), with the help of the Indian Coast Guard, intercepted a fishing boat after a chase in the sea near the Mandapam coast, with foreign origin gold weighing 17.74 kg valued at Rs 10.1 crore approximately, the finance ministry said.
The gold was hidden in a parcel containing 14 packages of foreign origin gold in various forms -- varying sizes of bars, chains, and sticks, and tied in a towel. Three persons involved in the said smuggling have been apprehended and being interrogated. The DRI developed an intelligence that a gang based in Vedhalai/Mandapam, Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, were planning to smuggle huge quantities of gold from Sri Lanka through a fishing boat. The intelligence also revealed that three persons in the fishing boat would collect the gold in the high seas and are planning to land in the coast of Mandapam.
With this seizure, DRI, Chennai Zonal Unit, has so far seized 209 kg of foreign-origin gold in this financial year 2022-23. The all India gold seizure by DRI is 950 kg (approx.) in this financial year. (PTI)
