DRI busts Bangladesh-Kolkata-Hyderabad gold smuggling route, seizes Rs 5.84 crore haul

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence arrested five people near Vijayawada after seizing gold and foreign currency worth Rs 5.84 crore. Officials allege the gold was smuggled from Bangladesh via Kolkata to Hyderabad. The agency also reported an earlier seizure near Visakhapatnam

Vijayawada: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a Bangladesh-Kolkata-Hyderabad gold smuggling route with the seizure of foreign-origin gold and foreign currency valued at about Rs 5.84 crore near Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh.

Five persons were arrested in the operation jointly carried out by officials of the DRI Hyderabad Unit and the Vijayawada Regional Unit.

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The agency said on Wednesday that it identified a gang smuggling gold from Bangladesh to Hyderabad via Kolkata.

The officials seized 3,147.1 grams of gold, USD 60,000, and Euro 21,500, all valued at about Rs 5.84 crore.

The DRI officials intercepted a four-wheeler on the outskirts of Vijayawada and recovered the foreign currency concealed in a secret cavity in the SUV.

The two occupants admitted to having delivered the gold and that the seized foreign currency represented part of the sale proceeds from the smuggled gold.

Acting on information given by them, police stopped a bus heading towards Hyderabad and arrested three more individuals carrying three gold bars, weighing about 3.1 kilograms. The gold bars were concealed in pouches around their waists.

The coordinated operation was carried out based on intelligence inputs that a gang was smuggling foreign-origin gold from Bangladesh and transporting it to Hyderabad via Kolkata.

All five accused, allegedly involved in procuring and transporting the gold, were arrested and produced in a court, which remanded them to judicial custody.

DRI said further investigation was underway.

This is the second such operation by DRI in Andhra Pradesh this month.

Earlier, the DRI officials had seized foreign-origin gold worth Rs 8.98 crore near Visakhapatnam and arrested two persons.

The gold hidden under the car seat was being transported from Kolkata to Hyderabad.

According to the DRI, it seized 5,832.90 grams of gold worth Rs 8.98 crore in the market from a car travelling from Kolkata to Hyderabad, following a chase and search on the night of October 8-9.

The gold had been smuggled into India through the India-Bangladesh border and was being transported to Hyderabad.

Officials seized the recovered gold under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. They arrested and produced both passengers before the jurisdictional magistrate, who remanded them to judicial custody.