In a significant joint operation with the Indian Coast Guard and the Customs Preventive Unit (CPU), Ramanathapuram, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 4.9 kilograms of foreign-origin gold valued at Rs 3.43 crore at mid-sea near the Vedhalai coast in Mandapam, Tamil Nadu.
Acting on specific intelligence that a gang was smuggling foreign-origin gold into India from Sri Lanka through the Vedhalai coast in Ramanathapuram District using a fishing boat, officers from the DRI and the Indian Coast Guard mounted surveillance over the movement of suspected fishing boats in the area on the intervening night of April 3-4.
In the early hours of April 4, the officers identified a suspected boat at mid-sea and pursued it in an Indian Coast Guard vessel, eventually intercepting it. Just before the interception, one of the persons onboard the suspected boat was observed throwing a consignment into the sea.
Three individuals were found on the country boat, and during interrogation, they admitted that the consignment thrown into the sea consisted of foreign-origin gold smuggled from Sri Lanka, which they had received from a boat from Sri Lanka in deep waters.
Meanwhile, officers from the Customs Preventive Unit in Ramanathapuram also joined the operation by boat, and the location where the smuggled gold was thrown into the sea was secured for a search operation. After an extensive search operation at the sea bed on the afternoon of April 5, the smuggled gold was successfully retrieved. Upon opening the consignment, it was found that crude gold bars of different sizes weighing 4.9 kilograms, valued at Rs 3.43 crore, were tightly packed in a towel and thrown into the sea to avoid detection.
The DRI officers have seized the 4.9 kilograms of foreign-origin smuggled gold, and all three persons have been apprehended and are currently undergoing interrogation. This joint operation highlights the close coordination and collaboration between various law enforcement agencies in combating the menace of gold smuggling and safeguarding the economic interests of the nation.
