Pan-India op: DRI seizes foreign-origin gold worth ₹19 crore; 5 held in Mumbai

The syndicate allegedly used to smuggle gold brought into India via the country’s international border with Bangladesh and then further diverted the same to Mumbai, Nagpur, and Varanasi, among other urban destinations, agency sources said

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 31.7 kg of smuggled gold, worth ₹19 crore in a pan-India operation, targeting an international gold-smuggling syndicate in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh (UP). Eleven persons, including five in Mumbai, four in Nagpur and two in Varanasi, have been arrested in the matter.

Acting on specific intelligence, the DRI teams acted at the three inter-state locations against the syndicate that allegedly specialises in the smuggling of foreign-origin gold through a combination of land-train routes. “A huge quantity of smuggled gold weighing around 31.7 kg valued at around ₹19 crores was seized on Friday in Varanasi, UP, Nagpur and Mumbai,” a DRI official attached to the Mumbai Zonal Unit said (HT PHOTO)

The syndicate allegedly used to smuggle gold brought into India via the country’s international border with Bangladesh and then further diverted the same to Mumbai, Nagpur, and Varanasi, among other urban destinations, agency sources said.

Acting on specific intelligence, the DRI teams acted at the three inter-state locations against the syndicate that allegedly specialises in the smuggling of foreign-origin gold through a combination of land-train routes. “A huge quantity of smuggled gold weighing around 31.7 kg valued at around ₹19 crores was seized on Friday in Varanasi, UP, Nagpur and Mumbai,” a DRI official attached to the Mumbai Zonal Unit said.

The DRI team traced five accused in Mumbai and allegedly recovered 4.9 kg of smuggled gold from them. The accused arrested in Mumbai have been identified as Arun Pujari, Nitesh Gorad, Kiran Mandale, Tushar Jadhav and Rohit Waghmare. “There was a specific intelligence that four persons were going to bring smuggled gold into the city and hand it over to another person near an ATM in Juhu. The team set up a vigil and intercepted five persons near the ATM,” a DRI official said. “Search of all the persons were carried out and 4.9kg of gold was recovered from Pujari.”

The DRI Nagpur team apprehended two persons and recovered 8.5 kg of foreign-marked gold. During their interrogation, two alleged receivers of the gold were also identified and arrested.

The DRI Varanasi team nabbed two of the accused after intercepting the car in which they were travelling in UP, with the help from the local police, after a three-hour dramatic chase on the streets and a search operation that covered a forested tract, DRI sources said. “About 18.2 kg of gold was recovered from the two persons and a cavity made below the hand brake of the car,” the official said.

“With due diligence and a coordinated plan of action, a total of 11 persons have been arrested. These 11 accused persons covered all aspects of the gold smuggling syndicate as they played roles of being carriers /passengers, handlers and final recipients of the smuggled gold,” the official said.