12 kg smuggled gold seized in Kolkata

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About 12 kg of smuggled gold valued at Rs 3.7 crore was seized here in two separate operations and seven persons were arrested, an official said on Monday.

Acting on a tip off, personnel of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence intercepted three persons at Burrabazar, one of Asia's biggest wholesale markets, in central Kolkata and recovered 53 gold biscuits having a foreign marking, weighing 6.18 kg and valued at 1.68 crore.

"Gold biscuits were hidden in the shoes," the official said.

According to initial findings, the gold biscuits were smuggled into India from Bangladesh through Bangaon, an Indo-Bangladesh border town in North 24 Parganas of West Bengal. The men were in a car.

"Three persons and the driver of the car have been arrested," a DRI official said.

Three of the accused have been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.

In another case, one person was apprehended from a bus plying between Kolkata and Khulna (Bangladesh) at Kaikhali in North 24 Parganas by DRI officials. The driver and the supervisor of the bus were also arrested for smuggling the gold from Bangladesh.

A total of 5.55 kg of gold of foreign origin, valued at Rs 1.75 crore, was recovered from the person's shoe and a belt tied around his waist, a DRI official said.

--IANS

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