Darbhanga: In a major success against gold smuggling, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested two gold smugglers and recovered 2 kg gold biscuits worth Rs 1.22 crore smuggled from Switzerland, in Darbhanga district of Bihar, offiicials said on Saturday. An official said that the accused car borne duo was nabbed by a special team of DRI from Muzaffarpur at the Raje toll plaza in Darbhanga.
Also read: Over 32 kg gold worth Rs 20 crore recovered from sea; smuggling bid foiled
Following the inputs, checks were intensified along the Muzaffarpur-Darbhanga and Darbhanga-Purnia NH by the DRI. During one such checkpoint at the Raje plaza, a car with two men on board was checked by the DRI officials, who recovered 2 kg gold biscuits smuggled from Switzerland from the basement of the vehicle.
The market value of the gold biscuits is said to be Rs 1.22 crore. After questioning the duo, both were taken into custody and later sent to judicial custody by a local court. Sources said that the Switzerland made gold was being smuggled into Bangladesh via Bihar. It is said that a smuggler from Bangladesh had handed over the gold to the smugglers of Darbhanga near the India-Bangladesh border of Assam.
The recovery of the smuggled gold comes two days after a joint team of the Indian Coast Guard and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Customs seized 32.689 kg of gold worth around a whopping Rs 20.2 crore which was thrown into the sea, from two fishing boats at the Gulf of Mannar area off Tamil Nadu. Officials said that the consignment was being smuggled into India from Sri Lanka.
