Chennai: In a state-wide operation, sleuths from DRI arrested 8 persons who had been smuggling gold bars concealed in the handles of cutting pliers and seized 5.9 kg gold worth nearly Rs 1.8 crore from them in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu.
The smugglers were found carrying cutting pliers with handles made of gold bars, finished gold etc.
“In simultaneous operations in different cities in Tamil Nadu, we busted a gold smuggling syndicate and recovered 5.9 kg gold. Smugglers were bringing in bars and jewellery smuggled in from Dubai and Singapore. Four persons have been arrested in Chennai, DRI said in a statement.
Based on intelligence, special teams of DRI officers were deployed at airports in Chennai, Tiruchy and Madurai, besides on a highway, DRI said. On Friday morning, officials intercepted a car at Chengalpet near here whose occupants revealed that gold bars were concealed under the front seat of the vehicle.
The two persons who were travelling in a Swift Dzire car told the investigators that the gold bars were smuggled via Tiruchy airport and that they had received the gold from various passengers who had arrived from Singapore and Dubai, DRI said.
Further, when officials conducted a detailed search of the car, they found brand new cutting pliers, raising their suspicion. When the covers of the handles were removed, eight specially moulded rods of gold were found sheathed in the two plastic grips of each of the cutting pliers, DRI said. The officers also found some jewels neatly packed in packets.
As a follow-up action, searches were conducted at a house in Chennai and “crude gold bars / gold jewellery of foreign origin” were also seized and two others were apprehended in this connection, DRI said.
Further, DRI also seized another pair of cutting pliers with gold handle from a passenger who arrived from Dubai. The DRI said that 8 persons were arrested across the state and smuggled gold articles were recovered from them.
