DRI busts gold smuggling ring using couriers from Bangladesh border, 11 held
DRI seized 6.61 kg of gold worth over Rs 10 crore in raids across five cities and arrested 11 people linked to a smuggling network.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a gang that was smuggling foreign gold into India through the India-Bangladesh border via West Bengal and Assam, and then sending it to various cities through courier parcels. A total of 11 people have been arrested so far in the operation, named "Operation Border Bullion Bust".
DRI's Mumbai division began simultaneous raids in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Guwahati from September 23. The investigation found that smuggled gold was being sent through courier parcels dispatched from Guwahati and Kolkata to Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad.
Acting on this information, DRI intercepted several courier parcels and seized 6.61 kg of foreign-marked gold. According to DRI, the gold is valued at around Rs 10.36 crore. Seven people who came to collect the parcels were detained. Following this, raids were also conducted at the Kolkata bases of those sending the parcels, leading to the arrest of three more people. Further investigation led to the arrest of a key mastermind of the network, who handled the planning and distribution of the parcels, from Mumbai.
A preliminary examination of documents found during the investigation revealed the scale of the network's operations. According to DRI, over the past nine months of this year, the gang used the same courier network to smuggle around 318 kg of gold to different parts of the country. The gold is estimated to be worth around Rs 475 crore.
The smuggled gold was brought into India from the India-Bangladesh border and then sent from Guwahati and Kolkata to Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad in small courier parcels. The investigation found that the gold was being delivered for sale in the domestic market without any authorised documents. The seized 6.61 kg of gold has been confiscated under the Customs Act, 1962. DRI's investigation is continuing into the remaining people involved in the network and the full trail of the gold's onward sale and transactions.
