DRI Seizes 121 Kg Gold, In North-East Corridor In Sep

The Finance Ministry on Wednesday said there has been a spurt in the smuggling of gold through the north-east borders of Bangladesh and Myanmar, with 11 cases of seizures of 121 kg in September alone. While the porous borders have been used for smuggling in the past, 11 cases of gold seizures of 121 kg in September 2022 alone show that the NE corridor is still extensively being used by smugglers, deploying ingenious ways of concealment, the ministry said in a statement.

Listing out instances of such smuggling, it said, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 65.46 kg of foreign-origin gold worth Rs 33.40 crore. The gold was consigned from Aizwal to Mumbai in domestic courier consignment. The gold was concealed in gunny bags declared as clothes.

In yet another case of smuggling through the same route, the DRI seized another big haul of smuggled foreign-origin gold weighing approximately 23.23 kg and valued at Rs.11.65 crore, which was being smuggled from Myanmar. In another 9 cases in the month, DRI recovered and seized 27 kg of smuggled gold from various carriers coming from the north-eastern part of the country to the rest of the country.

(PIT)