The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized over 21 kg gold, smuggled into the country from Bangladesh, and arrested seven people, according to an official statement.
Acting on intelligence, a team of DRI officers and the BSF officers, in a joint operation, entered an area near Bongaon in West Bengal on Thursday and intercepted seven suspected members of a syndicate engaged in smuggling of gold.
The accused admitted that they had in their possession gold of foreign origin smuggled into India from Bangladesh and on noticing the entry of the DRI officers, they had hidden the smuggled gold in various places around an agricultural field.
After further enquiry, gold was recovered from a total of four places secreted under the soil. A total of 23 packets wrapped in brown coloured adhesive tapes and torn clothes were unwrapped and from those 23 packets, a total of 95 pieces of gold biscuits having foreign inscriptions were recovered, the statement issued by the DRI said.
Therafter, the additional seven rectangular bars recovered from other sites, wrapped in brown adhesive tapes were unwrapped and seven gold bars were also recovered, it said.
The total weight of the 95 gold biscuits having foreign inscriptions was found to be 11.08 kg and the total weight of the seven gold bars was found to be 9.9 kg.
Thus, the collective weight of total 102 pieces of gold bars & biscuits so recovered was found to be 21.01 kgs. The total value of the gold has been ascertained to be Rs 8.74 crore, it said.
The gold biscuits were seized and the seven people were arrested.
In addition, Bangladesh currency of 2,65,580 Taka was also seized by the DRI officers.
In the current financial year, the DRI has seized more than 300 kg of gold in West Bengal and Sikkim, valued at close to Rs 123 crore.
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