In a major catch, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized gold worth nearly Rs 43 crore, smuggled into India from Myanmar, from eight men arrested at New Delhi railway station, officials said on Saturday.
As many as 504 gold bars, weighing 83.6 kg, have been recovered from the accused who hail from Sangli district in Maharashtra, they said. In a statement issued on Saturday, the DRI said eight people were intercepted after their arrival at New Delhi railway station by Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani Express on Friday.
The DRI officials seized 504 gold bars which were found to be concealed in specially tailored cloth vests worn by these eight passengers, it said. “The carriers of the smuggled gold were found to be travelling on fake identity (Aadhar card),” the statement said.
The intelligence inputs indicate that the recovered gold bars carrying foreign markings, had been smuggled into India from Myanmar through the international land border at Moreh in Manipur and the smuggling syndicate operating from Guwahati was attempting to dispose of the contraband in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai which have thriving markets for the yellow metal, the probe agency said.
“The smuggling syndicate sourced and recruited poor and needy individuals from various parts of the country, to act as carriers of smuggled gold, by luring them with the prospect of quick and easy money. The smugglers used air, land and rail routes to locally transport the smuggled gold,” it said.
The seized gold bars are of 99.9 per cent purity and collectively weigh 83.621 kg. “The market value of the recovered contraband is close to Rs 43 crore,” the statement said. These eight carriers have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody, it added.
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