DRI busts international racket, seizes 55 kg of smuggled gold from Myanmar
The DRI said it received inputs about the international gold smuggling racket from intelligence agencies. As per the input, a huge quantity of foreign-origin gold was being smuggled from Myanmar to India, where it was distributed to different parts.
The Delhi unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recently seized 55.61 kg of foreign-origin gold worth Rs 28 crore from eight persons, according to officials. The gold was seized from Delhi and Lucknow after it was smuggled from Myanmar.
Anurag Thakur, Minister of State, Finance and Corporate Affairs in a tweet said, “Our qualified officers of DRI are heavy on the smugglers. Their loyalty, dedication and technology are very helpful in preventing tax evasion and increasing revenue.”
The DRI said it received inputs about the international gold smuggling racket from intelligence agencies. As per the input, a huge quantity of foreign-origin gold was being smuggled from Myanmar to India, where it was distributed to different parts.
“The spurt of economic activity seen after the lifting of Covid-related lockdowns throughout the country, combined with the pent-up demand for gold, coincided with a surge in such smuggling activities. The blocking of air routes through the lockdown period also saw a significant shift in the modus operandi of smugglers from the air routes to the land route through the Indo-Myanmar border,” said the DRI.
The DRI officers have made a string of gold seizures in the past six months. These include seizure of 51.33 kg of smuggled gold in November 2020 by the DRI Guwahati Zonal Unit, seizure of 84 Kg and 66 kg of smuggled gold in August and November 2020, respectively, by the DRI Zonal Unit, and the recent seizure of 55.61 kg of gold by the Delhi Zonal Unit.
“Due to the intensive counter-smuggling efforts by DRI, the smugglers have been seen to shift their preferred modus from vehicle concealment to in-person concealment. However, in the latest operation, codenamed Golden Triangle, which was a coordinated effort by the officers of Delhi Zonal Unit and Lucknow Zonal Unit of DRI, the modus of human concealment has also been busted where the carriers were found to have been concealing the gold bars in belts worn around their waists,” said the DRI.
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