Mumbai, Sep 11 — In continuation of its operation against smuggling of precious metals, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized gold dust worth over Rs five crore and arrested four people, including two staffers, from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
An official statement said that 3.5 kg of gold dust worth Rs 5.5 crore has been seized by the DRI, leading to the arrest of four people, including two staffers at the airport and two transit passengers.
According to officials, the accused were allegedly part of an international gold smuggling syndicate operating through the airport in Mumbai.
In a similar operation last month, the DRI seized gold worth over Rs three crore from a train passenger at Nagpur in Maharashtra.
Upon receiving a tip-off that gold, smuggled across the India-Bangladesh border, was being transported further by train, a DRI Nagpur team conducted an operation at Nagpur Railway Station and detained a passenger.
An official statement said that the passenger was arrested with 2.165 kg of gold. The estimated value of the seized gold is reported to be Rs 3.09 crore.
According to the intelligence received, the gold had been smuggled into India via the India-Bangladesh border. DRI officials subsequently learned that the gold was to be transported to its next destination by an individual travelling on the 12102 Dnyaneshwari Express.
Acting on this information, DRI Nagpur officials laid a trap at Nagpur Railway Station. The passenger was searched upon his arrival at the station, during which the concealed gold was discovered. Officials seized 16 gold bars from the accused passenger.
The DRI recently conducted six significant operations in different locations across the country, resulting in the seizure of two leopard pelts, 180 live Indian Star Tortoises, 12 live Tokay Geckos, around 24 kg of pangolin scales and 500 grams of tiger bones.
At least 13 persons were arrested across these six operations.
DRI officers intercepted a person in Jeypore, Koraput district, Odisha, and recovered one leopard pelt from his possession. The leopard pelt and the apprehended person were handed over to the State Forest Department, Koraput, for further investigation and legal action under the Act.