Four smugglers nabbed, 31 gold bars seized on Bengaluru-Hyderabad highway

HYDERABAD: Four smugglers carrying 3-kg gold were arrested at a toll plaza on the Bengaluru-Hyderabad highway on Monday night. During interrogation, the four accused admitted that they were smuggling gold from Bengaluru to the city.
Acting on specific information, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials intercepted a private travels bus at Raikal toll plaza near Shadnagar. They caught hold of a smuggler and recovered some gold. Based on his inputs, the DRI team intercepted a car coming from Bengaluru at the toll plaza and nabbed three others travelling in it.
“The accused were carrying 31 gold bars weighing three kilos. The seized gold is of foreign origin with Valcambi precious metals from Switzerland and 24-karat purity. Its market value is Rs 1.38 crore,” said a DRI official.
The accused were not carrying any ownership documents. “They confessed that the gold was supposed to be delivered to receivers in Hyderabad. We are trying to nab the other gang members,” said the DRI official. The four accused were arrested under Customs Act.
In another case, CISF sleuths intercepted two men at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport when they were taking a flight to Khartoum via Dubai and found 46 kilos of white sandalwood in their baggage. “The duo produced bills for only 20 kilos of white sandalwood. We handed them over to the customs officials for further probe,” said a CISF official.