DRI seizes 10 kg of smuggled gold in Bengal, 2 held

Kolkata: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized ten kgs of smuggled gold worth Rs 3.18 crore from West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district, a DRI release said on Sunday.

Acting on a tip-off, the officials intercepted a car at Fulbari in Siliguri area on Saturday and arrested two persons with the smuggled gold.

“The officials recovered ten foreign origin gold bars, each weighing one kilogram, from a car near Siliguri’s Fulbari. The car was on its way from Bhutan to Bihar’s Muzaffarpur. Two persons travelling in the car have been arrested,” the release said.

Upon interrogation it was revealed that the gold bars were brought to India from Bhutan through the Jaigaon-Phuentsholing border.

“The gold bars were originally handed over to the accused persons at a hotel situated in Bhutan’s Phuentsholing and were supposed to be delivered to the buyer in India,” DRI said.

The DRI has seized over 152 kg of gold valued at close to Rs 50 crore in West Bengal and northeastern states in 2017-18.

IANS