DRI seizes around 10 kg gold from Assam, West Bengal

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized around 10 kg of gold, valued at over Rs 3 crore, and arrested six persons in separate cases from Guwahati and Siliguri, according to an official statement issued today.
Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers effected two back-to-back seizures of smuggled gold bars in Guwahati on February 23 and 24.
In the first case, an accused had concealed 22 pieces of gold bars, weighing 3.6 kg and valued at Rs 1.15 crore, in his shoes, it said.
On February 24, two men were intercepted from Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani Express.
"The passengers had boarded the train from Dimapur and were travelling to New Delhi. Following a search, nine pieces of gold bars were recovered from the shoes of one of the accused. Another six pieces of gold bars were detected and extricated from the rectal orifice of the second accused," the statement issued by the DRI said.

The total weight of the 15 pieces of gold bars recovered from both the persons was 2.5 kg and valued at Rs 78 lakh, it said.

"In both cases, it was found that the gold bars were procured from Manipur, where it was smuggled through the Indo-Myanmar border town Moreh," the statement said.
All the three accused in these two cases have been arrested.
In a separate case in Siliguri, DRI officials intercepted three persons from a second-class compartment of Sealdah-bound Padatik express train on February 23.
A search of the trio resulted in seizure of six pieces of gold bars and biscuits of foreign origin, collectively weighing 3.6 kg, the statement said, adding the gold bars were being carried by them stealthily in specially tailored cloth belts tied to their waist.

"All the intercepted persons admitted the fact that the recovered gold bars and biscuits were of foreign origin that had been smuggled into India from Myanmar through porous Indo-Myanmar border at Moreh and were being taken to Kolkata for their delivery,' the statement said.
All the three apprehended persons were arrested, it said.
In all these cases, 9.7 kg gold valued at Rs 3.08 crore has been seized and six persons have been arrested, the statement said.
During the current financial year, in the region spread over West Bengal and the northeastern states, the DRI has seized over 280 kg of gold valued at close to Rs 84 crore smuggled from Bangladesh, Myanmar and even Bhutan.