27 Kg Gold Seized
Key Highlights
- DRI seized over 27 kg of smuggled foreign-origin gold.
- 12 people arrested in nationwide intelligence-led operations.
- Gold hidden inside aircraft lavatories, vehicles, utensils, and body cavities.
- Major operations conducted in Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, Kolkata, Cochin, and Guwahati.
- Smuggling routes traced through Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Dubai.
- Authorities uncovered sophisticated organised gold smuggling syndicates.
New Delhi: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has intensified its nationwide crackdown on organised gold smuggling networks, seizing more than 27 kg of foreign-origin gold and arresting 12 people in a series of intelligence-led operations across India.
Investigators uncovered several sophisticated smuggling techniques, including gold hidden inside aircraft lavatory ceiling panels, specially designed vehicle cavities, modified utensils, handbags, waist belts, and body concealment.
One of the biggest operations took place at Mumbai Airport, where DRI officers intercepted three passengers arriving from Addis Ababa. After a detailed aircraft inspection, officials recovered 12 kg of gold bars concealed inside the ceiling panels of the aircraft’s rear lavatory. Investigations revealed that the passengers had hidden the gold for later retrieval by airport staff.
In another operation in Uttar Pradesh, officials intercepted a woman travelling on the Brahmaputra Mail and seized 5 kg of foreign-origin gold bars concealed inside a specially designed waist belt and her handbag. She admitted that the gold had been smuggled into India through Bangladesh.
A separate investigation at Mumbai Airport exposed another smuggling racket involving 3.7 kg of gold dust in wax form, which was hidden inside an aircraft lavatory and later collected by cleaning staff. Five people, including handlers and airport workers, were arrested in the operation.
At Kolkata Railway Station, DRI officers recovered 4.6 kg of smuggled gold concealed inside specially fabricated utensils. The investigation found that the consignment had entered India through Myanmar.
Additional operations at Cochin Airport and Guwahati resulted in the seizure of around 2 kg of gold concealed inside a passenger’s body and a specially modified car, respectively.
The DRI stated that these coordinated operations demonstrate the growing sophistication of organised gold smuggling syndicates and reaffirm the agency’s commitment to dismantling illegal cross-border smuggling networks across the country.
