62 gold bars smuggled from SL seized in India

22 January 2016 10:42 am

Gold bars valued at Rs 2.21 crore, smuggled into India from Sri Lanka, were today seized from a car by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence officials at a toll gate on a national highway in Tamil Nadu, the PTI reported.

A total of 8.325 kg of gold was seized from the van. It included 62 bars with foreign markings, each weighing 100 grams, two bars weighing one kg each with similar markings and one cut piece gold bar, a DRI release said last night.

The DRI acted on specific intelligence that gold bars were being smuggled to India from Sri Lanka by boats through coastal villages near Nagapattinam. They were then moved to Thanjavur and later transported to Chennai by car.

The van was intercepted at Valvathankottai toll gate on Tiruchirapalli-Thanjavur National Highway early this morning.

The two occupants on being questioned admitted that they were transporting the gold received from Nagapattinam coast and bought from Sri Lanka into India through boat.

The two were arrested for violations under the provision of Customs Act, 1962