96 pieces of gold biscuits weighing 15.93 kg were found carefully concealed in different parts of the three vehicles– two oil tankers and a truck travelling separately from Mao. Five persons of the syndicate have been arrested and three vehicles were seized in the operation.
TFM Desk
In a major feat in its drive against organised gold smuggling syndicates, code-named “Gold on the Highway”, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 15.93 kg of gold worth Rs 8.38 crore smuggled through the Indo-Myanmar border in Guwahati and Dimapur on 12 May 2022.
According to an official statement, officers of DRI were acting on the basis of specific intelligence. They mounted discreet surveillance on two oil tankers and a truck travelling separately from Mao, Manipur to Guwahati, Assam. In the early morning hours of 12th May 2022, these vehicles were intercepted simultaneously at different points along the National Highway between Dimapur and Guwahati.
After intensive examination of the intercepted vehicles, 96 pieces of gold biscuits weighing 15.93 kg were found carefully concealed in different parts of the three vehicles. Five persons of the syndicate have been arrested and three vehicles were seized in the operation. Further investigations are in progress, said the statement.
In the fiscal year 2021-22, DRI has seized 833 kg of gold valued at Rs. 405 crore during its operations across the country. Of this, in the North-Eastern states, DRI has seized more than 208 kg gold valued at Rs. 102.6 crore, smuggled through the highly sensitive Indo-Myanmar and Indo-Bangladesh border.
DRI’s ability to effectively detect and affect such seizures acts as a deterrent to those attempting to compromise India’s economic frontiers, said the statement, adding DRI remains committed to continuing its relentless crackdown against the perpetrators of such crimes.