IN A fresh case of crackdown on gold smuggling, a joint team of sleuths of DRI and RPF, SECR, intercepted two couriers and seized smuggled gold of 1.242 kg valued at nearly Rs 2 crore on Thursday. The Raipur office of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) got a tip-off about an attempt to smuggle gold in Howrah-Mumbai Duronto Express. They got in touch with the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Nagpur Division, and decided to catch the persons smuggling gold. A search was initiated in Duronto Express and two persons were caught with seven bars of gold when the train was between Bhandara and Nagpur.

 

As the precise location of persons smuggling was not known, the DRI team along with RPF team conducted searches in all the coaches and finally netted the two over suspicious behaviour. The two persons were caught in B-12 coach of the train. The seven gold bars weighed 1.242 kg and its total value is estimated to be at Rs 1,96,34,307, said the RPF release. In the recent past, this is the second busting of gold smuggling ring on the part of DRI. Recently, the swoop took place at Nagpur Railway Station where substantial quantity of smuggled gold was seized. The DRI team deboarded at Nagpur Railway Station and took the two nabbed persons for questioning to trace the source of gold. The two were booked under Section 135 of Customs Act, 1962, and they would be produced in the court for custody remand.