Overview
- DRI busted an organised gold-smuggling syndicate spanning Delhi and Kolkata, arresting six people including carriers, a melting-facility manager and an alleged mastermind.
- Officers seized 8,286.81 grams of foreign-marked gold valued at about Rs 13.41 crore, 7,350.4 grams of silver worth Rs 19.67 lakh and Indian currency of Rs 51.74 lakh under the Customs Act, 1962.
- The investigation found gold moved by rail and defaced at illegal melting units to remove identifying marks before sale in the domestic bullion market.
- In a separate Mumbai operation, DRI intercepted four passengers at CSMIA and seized foreign currency worth about Rs 1.93 crore and 53 pouches of diamonds valued around Rs 1.10 crore.
- Six arrests were made in Mumbai, including four carriers, a handler and a suspected hawala operator, bringing total arrests across the actions to 12, with further inquiries underway to trace the wider network.