“The seizures were done from a premise in Kolkata having a collective value of approx Rs 2.65 crore,” said an official.The customs department has seized gold worth more than Rs 2 crore from a city-based gold shop and arrested five persons, including the shop owner, a senior official said here on Sunday.
Officials from the department raided the shop in the city’s Burrabazar area on Saturday on the basis of intelligence inputs. They searched the jewellery store and found 20 pieces of tola bars, weighing 2.32 kg, with foreign inscriptions.
The Intelligence and Investigation wing of the office of the Customs superintendent of rummaging and investigation conducted the operation. It also seized 1.2 kg of melted primary gold and sale proceeds of Rs 85.17 lakh.
“The seizures were done from a premise in Kolkata having a collective value of approx Rs 2.65 crore,” said an official.
The investigators refused to divulge the names of those arrested and said they were produced in a court and handed over to the police.
According to officials, the bars were brought to the shop for melting. In India, such smuggled gold is melted to make jewellery with local markings. With the festive season round the corner, and gold prices on the rise, officials expect smuggling of the yellow metal to go up in Kolkata.
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