Bhupen Goswami
GUWAHATI : Based on information, raids were carried out at New Delhi railway stations in Rajdhani Express from Dibrugarh was raided yesterday and 504 gold biscuits were confiscated .The Revenue Intelligence Directorate seized gold worth Rs 43 crore smuggled from Myanmar to India and arrested eight people at the New Delhi railway station. The value of this gold is being estimated at Rs 43 crore.According to DRI officials, smuggling of this precious metal has increased in view of rising prices of gold in the country.
The metal is being smuggled from the neighboring country of Myanmar. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has caught gold worth Rs 43 crore smuggled from Myanmar at the New Delhi railway station and arrested eight people. 504 gold bars were recovered from the accused, residents of Sangli district of Maharashtra. Their weight is 83.6 kg. Earlier, on 17 July, DRI seized gold worth seven crores.Around 14 kg of gold was seized at that time by conducting separate operations in three states. The DRI said on Saturday that eight people were arrested after arriving at the New Delhi railway station on Friday from the Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani Express. These people had hidden gold rods in specially tailored clothing jackets.
Those who brought smuggled gold were found traveling on fake identities (Aadhaar cards). Intelligence input indicated that the captured gold rods were brought from Myanmar to Manipur international border in Manipur to India. The Guwahati-run smuggling syndicate was attempting to consume gold in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. The syndicate has recruited poor and needy people from different parts of the country to take up career work. They were lured by fast and easy earning. Smugglers used air, land and rail routes to smuggle gold.The seized gold bars are 99.9 percent pure and their total weight is 83.621 kg. The statement states that its market value is Rs 43 crore. The eight arrested persons have been sent to judicial custody.
The DRI is now trying to identify those who smuggled the gold. The DRI has come to know that the recovered gold biscuits had a foreign mark. During interrogation, it was found that all 8 people were traveling with fake Aadhaar cards.The accused told in interrogation that the gold came from Myanmar to Delhi via Manipur and Guwahati. This gold was to be supplied to some people in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence today conducted vigorous operations in Guwahati, Imphal, Dimapur and Dibrugarh to nab the gold smuggling racket based on intelligence, but is yet to catch anyone besides 8 people. Intelligence official sources said that politically credible persons could be involved in the case. The question of bringing such a large gold without scanning has surprised everyone.
