In a major crckdown, the Customs sleuths in Kerala have seized roughly 123 kgs of smuggled gold valued at around Rs 50 crore during raids at 23 premises in Thrissur district, a top official said here Thursday.
The gold was confiscated during raids conducted as part of an operation against a smuggling syndicate in the state, Customs Commissioner (Preventive) Sumit Kumar told PTI.
The smugglers allegedly sourced gold from various cities of Tamil Nadu and the yellow metal was smuggled to Thrissur through the land route as the city does not have connectivity by either air or sea.
He said 17 people allegedly associated with the smuggling rackets were caught by the officials who struck the spot, where the smuggled gold were brought.
Two vehicles used for committing the crime were seized, Kumar said.
Out of the 17 detained, 15 were carriers and two were receivers of the smuggled gold.
The operation which began in the wee hours of Wednesday in Thrissur is still underway, he noted.
"We've got about 123 kgs of gold. We also got Rs 2 crore Indian currency and USD 9000 USD during the targeted searches at 23 premises. 17 couriers are presently being interrogated. The total value of the seizures is Rs 50 crores."