Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Gold smugglers are not stopping smuggling even during peak Covid times. On the other hand, officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) are committed to checking smuggling in foreign-origin gold. The DRI arrested a person at Raipur, Chhattisgarh, on Wednesday for smuggling 3.33 kg of foreign-origin gold worth Rs 1.65 crore.
The action was carried out by the Raipur unit of the Indore zonal unit of the DRI. Based on specific intelligence, officers of the DRI apprehended a person carrying foreign-origin smuggled gold by train from Kolkata to Nagpur at Raipur railway station with the assistance of the Raipur RPF. Foreign marked gold bars weighing 3.33 kg were recovered from the person. The gold bars were found concealed inside his clothing and strapped to his waist with help of a cloth belt. The gold bars, along with the packing material, have been seized under the Customs Act of 1962.
According to official information given out by the DRI in the case, as of now, the role of five members of the syndicate has been revealed. In the past, too, this syndicate was involved in smuggling of gold of foreign origin in huge quantities for which payment was made through hawala channels. Further investigations into the matter are underway.
DRI officers have been conducting intelligence-based operations against continuous inflow of smuggled gold of foreign origin by syndicates based in West Bengal, which operate across the land border with Bangladesh, and which is threatening the financial security of the nation.
During the current financial year, officers of the DRI’s Indore zonal unit have carried out various operations and, so far, seized approximately 8,300 kg of cannabis (ganja), apart from foreign-origin gold, silver, smuggled cigarettes and electronic cigarettes, smuggled electronics items, cash earned by sale of smuggled goods, and so forth.
