HYDERABAD: Smuggled foreign-marked gold, weighing25 kg and worth Rs 11.63 crore being transported from Guwahati to Hyderabad, has been seized near Hyderabad.
The SUV carrying the yellow metal was also seized and three people in the vehicle were arrested, said the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Wednesday.
The trio was remanded in judicial custody, the DRI said.
Based on intelligence, the officers of DRI mounted surveillance on the Vijayawada- Hyderabad highway and intercepted the SUV on Tuesday at Panthangi Toll Plaza.
The gold bars were hidden in the dashboard of the SUV after removing the air-bag, the DRI said in a press release.
The vehicle, bearing Assam registration, had covered over 2,500km from Guwahati towards Hyderabad crossing the poll-bound states of Assam and West Bengal, the DRI said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the gold was handed over in Guwahati for delivery in Hyderabad.