DRI seizes 13.7 kg gold worth Rs 8.5 cr, five held

According to the DRI, on October 13 and 14, the agency busted a gold smuggling syndicate and seized a large amount of gold valued in crores.

In continuation of the said action, the DRI busted another branch of the same syndicate which was attempting to smuggle gold via land and the rail routes.

“The DRI Mumbai’s team intercepted two individuals carrying smuggled gold on a bus near Pune and seized 5 kg of smuggled gold from their possession late in the night of October 30. Their questioning revealed information about a handler based out of a village in Sangli district of Maharashtra,” the DRI said.

Subsequently, DRI officers raided the suspect’s house early in the morning on October 31, which led to the information that two more carriers of the same syndicate were smuggling gold from Varanasi to Nagpur.

The lead was shared with DRI’s Varanasi team which swiftly initiated action and intercepted the two carriers, leading to the further seizure of 8.7 kg of smuggled gold on October 31.

“Concentrated actions of DRI Mumbai, Goa Regional Unit and Varanasi teams led to the recovery of a total of 13.7 kg smuggled gold valued at Rs 8.5 crore,” the DRI stated in a statement.

The agency is still looking for the other accused members of the syndicate.