DRI Seizes 41 Kg Smuggled Gold Worth ₹62 Crore

• DRI seized around 41 kg of foreign-origin gold valued at approximately ₹62 crore.
• Twenty-four persons, including three foreign nationals, were arrested.
• Gold was recovered from airports, railway routes, vehicles and a manufacturing facility.
• Operations uncovered sophisticated concealment methods and suspected organised smuggling networks.

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 11th Sept: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized around 41 kg of foreign-origin gold valued at approximately ₹62 crore in six intelligence-led operations conducted across the country in recent days.

The operations resulted in the arrest of 24 persons, including three foreign nationals, and exposed organised gold-smuggling networks operating through airports, railway routes and the Indo-Bangladesh border.

In a major operation in Delhi on September 7, DRI officers searched premises linked to a person allegedly involved in procuring and converting foreign-origin gold. A manufacturing facility equipped with machinery for melting, rolling and die-cutting gold was found at a residential premises.

The operation resulted in the recovery of four foreign-origin gold bars weighing 1 kg each and around 6.2 kg of gold chains, taking the total seizure to approximately 10.2 kg. The owner of the facility was arrested.

In another Delhi operation on September 8, DRI intercepted a vehicle arriving from Punjab and seized 1.21 kg of gold along with foreign currency valued at approximately ₹43.50 lakh. One person was arrested.

At the Indo-Bangladesh border, DRI, in coordination with the BSF, seized 89 foreign-origin gold bars weighing around 11.3 kg during an operation on September 5–6. The gold was recovered from a person near BOP Halderpara, who was arrested under the Customs Act, 1962.

In West Bengal, DRI officers intercepted a passenger travelling under a different identity at Howrah Railway Station on September 3–4. Four defaced foreign-origin gold bars weighing 4.6 kg were recovered from a specially designed cloth belt concealed around his body. The investigation indicated that the gold had been melted and converted into defaced bars for onward delivery to Mumbai. The passenger and his associate were arrested.

In Mumbai, DRI busted a network allegedly involving transit passengers, airport staff and a recipient. During the September 9–10 operation, officers intercepted an airport staff member after he allegedly clandestinely removed smuggled gold from the airport. Three capsules containing gold dust in wax form were recovered.

Follow-up action led to the interception of two transit passengers at Mumbai Airport while they were allegedly handing over five gold capsules to airport staff. The passengers had arrived from Muscat and Dubai and were travelling onwards to Bangkok.

A total of eight capsules containing gold dust in wax form weighing 3.47 kg were seized. Five persons, including two transit passengers, two airport staff members and one recipient, were arrested.

In two separate operations on August 31 and September 6, DRI seized 1.6 kg of foreign-origin gold from a passenger travelling by train from Kolkata to Mumbai. In another case, an arc-shaped 24-carat gold bar weighing around 700 grams was recovered from the motor of a treadmill imported from Hong Kong.

Follow-up searches in Mumbai, Chennai, Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu led to the recovery of other dismantled machines and tools allegedly used for concealment. Two persons, including a Chinese national, were arrested.

In Uttar Pradesh, DRI, in coordination with Chandauli Police, seized 22 foreign-origin gold bars weighing around 2.56 kg on September 8–9. The bars were concealed in a box beneath the gearbox of a car. Preliminary investigation indicated that the gold had been smuggled from Bangladesh. Two persons were arrested.

At Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, DRI intercepted a passenger travelling under a fake identity at the domestic arrival area on September 8–9. Five gold bar cut-pieces weighing around 1 kg were recovered from his baggage after he was suspected of retrieving smuggled gold concealed inside an aircraft. The passenger was arrested.

In Chennai, DRI officers intercepted two passengers arriving from Sri Lanka on August 30 and September 1 on separate flights. Eight capsules containing gold in paste form were recovered through rectal concealment, yielding 2.5 kg of 24-carat gold. The investigation indicated alleged involvement of airport staff, and six persons, including the two foreign passengers, were arrested.

In two operations at Calicut on September 1–2, DRI seized 1.7 kg of gold. In one case, 770 grams was extracted from a gold-containing compound concealed in two capsules and a packet hidden inside a diaper worn by a passenger’s infant daughter. In another case, around 1 kg of 24-carat gold was recovered from the heavy metallic ring portion of a coffee machine carried in checked-in baggage by a passenger arriving from Dubai. Two persons were arrested.

The DRI said its intelligence-led and coordinated enforcement operations continue to disrupt organised gold-smuggling networks at multiple stages of the smuggling chain and prevent the illicit movement of precious metals into the country.