Hyderabad: Three individuals were apprehended by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in Hyderabad on Thursday, August 1, for smuggling foreign-origin gold.
The arrest occurred at Choutuppal on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad national highway, where officials seized 3.57 kilograms of gold valued at Rs 2.51 crore.
The DRI acted on a tip-off regarding the transportation of smuggled gold from Chennai to Bidar, Karnataka, passing through Telangana.
The suspects were intercepted at the Panthangi Toll Plaza, where they had hidden the gold in a specially designed cavity beneath the handbrake of their vehicle, accessible via a latch near the clutch.
During the search, authorities discovered three packets wrapped in brown tape, containing five bars of 24-carat gold with a purity of 99.5%.
The investigation is ongoing, and the arrested individuals have been remanded to judicial custody, according to an official statement from the DRI.
