Smuggled gold worth Rs 18.2 crore seized in Bengal, two arrested

Siliguri (West Bengal): In one of the biggest crackdown on gold smuggling in the two years, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 55 kg of smuggled gold worth Rs 18.2 crore from West Bengal's Siliguri and arrested two persons, an official said on Saturday.

Acting on a tip-off, the DRI officials detained a car on Friday that was carrying the smuggled gold from Bhutan's Phuentsholing to Siliguri and seized 55 pieces of gold bars weighing one kg each.

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"Two persons Ganesh Bhagwan Kute and Navnath Kallappa Kute, both natives of Sangli district in Maharashtra, were arrested while travelling from Bhutan to Siliguri. The gold bars were concealed in a cavity under the driver's seat," a DRI official said.

"It is one of the biggest gold seizures made in the country since in the last two years," he said.

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According to the agency officials, the two accused smugglers went to Bhutan from the neighbouring Indian town Jaigaon on Friday morning, where they received the consignment from a Bhutanese contact.

"The seized gold was earlier smuggled to Bhutan from various countries such as China, Australia and Switzerland and was supposed to be delivered to someone in Siliguri for further transportation," the official added.

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IANS