By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized around 21 kg of foreign-origin gold valued at more than Rs 61 crore in two separate operations and arrested five people under the Customs Act, 1962, officials said on Wednesday.
In the first operation, DRI officers, acting on specific intelligence, intercepted two new Thar vehicles near Palwal Toll Plaza on September 19. The vehicles had sophisticated concealed cavities in their chassis, created by removing and expertly welding back portions of the chassis above the rear wheels.
After extensive searches, the officers recovered 15.18 kg of gold bars valued at around Rs 23.30 crore from the two vehicles. Four people accompanying the vehicles were arrested. Preliminary intelligence indicated that the gold had been smuggled from Myanmar.
In another operation on September 16, DRI officers intercepted a passenger at Jewar Toll Plaza who was travelling by bus from Gorakhpur to Delhi. A personal search led to the recovery of 5.8 kg of foreign-origin gold, comprising five 1-kg bars and around 800 grams of cut pieces.
The gold, valued at around Rs 37.7 crore, had been concealed in a specially designed cotton waist belt. The passenger was arrested under the Customs Act. Preliminary investigation indicated that the gold had been handed over to him in Kathmandu and brought into India through the India-Nepal land border.
The latest seizures are part of a wider crackdown by the DRI on organised gold smuggling. Over the past three weeks, the agency has seized around 123 kg of gold and 10 kg of silver, collectively valued at more than Rs 187 crore, in various operations across the country. As many as 58 people have been arrested in connection with gold-smuggling cases during this period.
The operations highlight the increasingly sophisticated concealment methods being used by smuggling networks and the DRI’s efforts to detect and disrupt such organised operations.