DRI’s busts major gold smuggling syndicate; seizes over 61 kg gold worth Rs. 40 crore in a Pan-India Operation ‘Rising Sun’
India: The ‘Rising Sun’ operation conducted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) successfully dismantled a major smuggling syndicate involved in the illegal transportation of foreign-origin gold worth approximately Rs. 40 crore. This operation, meticulously planned and executed across four states, resulted in the confiscation of a significant quantity of smuggled gold weighing around 61.08 kg, valued at Rs. 40 crore.
Additionally, 19 vehicles, cash, and various electronic items were seized in the cities of Guwahati, Barpeta, Darbhanga, Gorakhpur, and Araria. Based on specific intelligence, DRI officers in Guwahati apprehended six members of the syndicate, including two masterminds, from a residential property. The officers recovered 22.74 kg of gold, Rs. 13 lakh in cash, vehicles, and other electronic items. Furthermore, a vehicle that had already left Guwahati was tracked down and intercepted in Barpeta, Assam, approximately 90 km away. In this interception, 13.28 kg of smuggled gold was recovered, and two additional individuals were apprehended.
Following leads obtained during the investigation, DRI officers in Muzaffarpur intercepted a vehicle near Darbhanga, resulting in the recovery of 13.27 kg of gold. In Gorakhpur, another vehicle was intercepted, leading to the seizure of 11.79 kg of foreign-origin gold. Additionally, DRI officers from Patna intercepted nine cars with concealed compartments used by the syndicate in Araria, Bihar.
Preliminary questioning of the detained individuals revealed that the syndicate employed a strategy of smuggling gold into India through the Indo-Myanmar land border in small quantities. The gold was then aggregated in Guwahati before being transported to cities like Delhi and Jaipur. As a result of this operation, DRI has apprehended a total of 12 individuals, with eight arrests in Guwahati, two in Muzaffarpur, and two in Gorakhpur.
