Two men held with 30 kg gold in Jaipur

Two men were arrested here with gold biscuits weighing 30 kg Sunday, police said. They were later released on bail by a court.

According to a senior police officer, two men, identified as Shravan Kumar and Agar Singh - both in their mid-twenties - were waiting to catch a bus at Jaipur's Dhuleshwar Garden area after midnight Saturday when they were arrested.

"The duo was behaving in a manner that aroused suspicion, so the police team checked them. The policemen were shocked to find that both were wearing specially tailored jackets under shirts. Each of them had gold biscuits weighing 15 kg stuffed in their jacket," the officer told IANS.

The officer added that no bills of the gold's purchase were found with the duo.

"They were arrested on suspicion of gold smuggling. The gold worth about Rs 8.40 crore was also seized," the officer added.

"During investigation, it came up that the two men were to supply the gold to a jeweller from the state's Jodhpur town (400 km from Jaipur). The jeweller, Dwaraka Das Soni, had bought this gold from a Jaipur-based bullion trader Lawat Jewellers Private Limited."

The officer said that Shravan Kumar and Agar Singh had taken the gold's delivery from Brinks Arya India Private Limited, a gold stock company in Jaipur's Civil Lines after midnight on Saturday.

"The delivery of gold in such a huge quantity around midnight was a grave security risk. Both the men were roaming around on the city roads with gold without any security. We booked both the man on suspicion of gold smuggling," said the officer.

The officer said that Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Income Tax and customs department have launched a joint investigation into the gold haul.

"The jeweller who purchased the gold and the one who sold it are being interrogated. Both claim that the deal was legitimate and they have relevant documents. The documents are being examined," the officer said.

The duo were produced in a court of an executive magistrate Sunday.

"Both were granted bail," the officer said.