DRI seizes 4.9 kg smuggled foreign origin gold mid-sea in TN

Just before the point of interception, the officers noticed that a consignment was thrown in the sea by one of the persons onboard the suspected boat. There were three persons onboard the said country boat and during interrogation they confessed that the consignment thrown in the sea consisted of foreign origin gold smuggled from Sri Lanka and it was received at deep sea from a boat there, the release said.Meanwhile, after officers of CPU joined the DRI, a search operation commenced at the spot where the gold was thrown.

In a joint operation involving the Coast Guard and Customs, the DRI has seized over Rs three crore worth gold smuggled from Sri Lanka and dumped in the sea off Mandapam.

An official release on Saturday said the agencies recovered a total of 4.9 kg of the precious metal from the sea bed on April 5 near here.

''In a joint operation with Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Customs Preventive Unit (CPU), Ramanathapuram, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 4.9 kg of foreign origin gold mid-sea off Vedhalai coast, Mandapam,'' it said.

Following intelligence that foreign origin gold is being smuggled into India from Sri Lanka through Vedhalai coast in a fishing boat, officers of DRI and ICG mounted surveillance on the intervening night of April 3 and 4.

''In the early hours of April 4, the officers identified a suspected boat midsea and chased in an ICG vessel and intercepted it. Just before the point of interception, the officers noticed that a consignment was thrown in the sea by one of the persons onboard the suspected boat.'' ''There were three persons onboard the said country boat and during interrogation they confessed that the consignment thrown in the sea consisted of foreign origin gold smuggled from Sri Lanka and it was received at deep sea from a boat'' there, the release said.

Meanwhile, after officers of CPU joined the DRI, a search operation commenced at the spot where the gold was thrown. On Saturday, the smuggled gold was retrieved after an extensive search operation in the sea bed. There were crude gold bars of different sizes totally weighing 4.9 kg which was valued at Rs 3.43 crores.

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