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Andhra cops seize ₹4.76 crore from luggage cabin of a private bus
Sharma said based on specific information that some people were smuggling gold besides carrying unaccounted for cash, a police team intercepted a private bus travelling from Vijayawada to Srikakulam at Ananthapalli toll plaza near Veeravalli village early on Friday morning.
The police in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district on Friday seized ₹4.76 crore cash stashed in several bags stored in the luggage cabin of a private bus, apart from 352 grams of gold.
West Godavari superintendent of police Rahul Dev Sharma told reporters that 10 people including two gold merchants, besides the driver and cleaner of the bus, were taken into custody for questioning.
Sharma said based on specific information that some people were smuggling gold besides carrying unaccounted for cash, a police team intercepted a private bus (with registration number AP39TB7555) travelling from Vijayawada to Srikakulam at Ananthapalli toll plaza near Veeravalli village of Nallajerla block at around 5 am on Friday.
“The cash was kept in several bags stored in the luggage carrier beneath the seats. We have also seized three vehicles – a Toyota Innova, a Hyundai Creta and a Maruti Ertiga– which were escorting the bus. The inmates of the bus and the cars could not account for the cash or gold and failed to produce any documents,” the SP said.
The police counted the seized cash and it amounted to ₹4,76,89,050. The arrested men were identified as S. Krishna Ramanjaneyulu (bus driver), V. Durga Prasad, Viswas Teja, M. Srinivas, P. Koti, S. Papa Rao, R. Narendra, G. Lakshman Rao, A. Kishore and P. Ramesh, all natives of Vijayawada and Eluru, the SP said.
The police alerted the Income Tax and the Customs Department officials. A case has been registered and investigation is on, Sharma said.
