New Delhi: The recent gold seizures in the North-East by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) indicate a spurt in smuggling of gold through NE borders of Bangladesh and Myanmar. While the porous borders have been used for smuggling in the past, 11 cases of gold seizures of 121 kg in September alone show that the NE corridor is still extensively being used by smugglers deploying ingenious ways of concealment.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs and in three coordinated interceptions at Patna, Delhi and Mumbai, DRI seized 65.46 kg of foreign origin gold worth Rs 33.40 crore. The gold was consigned from Aizawl to Mumbai in domestic courier consignment. The gold was concealed in gunny bags declared as clothes. In yet another case of smuggling through the same route, the DRI seized another big haul of smuggled foreign origin gold weighing approximately 23.23 kg and valued at Rs 11.65 crore approximately, which was being smuggled from Myanmar.
In a statement, DRI said that specific intelligence indicated that a substantial quantity of foreign origin gold will be attempted to be smuggled from Champhai-Aizawl, Mizoram to Kolkata in West Bengal by carrying or concealing them in a vehicle. To interdict the contraband, coordinated action was undertaken on September 28-29, 2022. The DRI officers mounted surveillance on the highway connecting Siliguri - Guwahati. Four passengers travelling in two suspect vehicles were identified and intercepted.
After thorough rummaging of the two vehicles over a period of two days, 23.23 kg gold concealed in the vehicle body in the form of 21 cylindrical pieces, was recovered. The gold in this case was cast in order to fit in the specifically made cavity inside the cross-member metal pipe connecting the right and left rails of chassis behind the rear wheels and suspension in both the vehicles. The recovered gold had been smuggled into India from Myanmar through Zokhawthar border in Mizoram.
DRI said that four persons have been arrested in the instant case so far. In another nine cases in the month, DRI recovered and seized 27 kg smuggled gold from various carriers coming from the North-Eastern part of the country to the rest of the country. These series of detections have helped unearth novel modus operandi of smuggling foreign origin gold into India from the North-Eastern part of the country. Further investigation is in progress. /BI/
