Revenue intelligence busts gold smuggling racket in state
Four from family in city held, gold, cash & vehicle seized
Shillong, March 30: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) carried out an operation against an organised smuggling syndicate based out of Shillong and seized gold, cash and a vehicle besides arresting four from a family.
1.16 kg of foreign origin gold smuggled though the Indo-Bangladesh border along with Rs. 57.70 lakh were seized on March 25 in Guwahati.
According to DRI, six persons of the syndicate were arrested and one vehicle was seized in the operation.
Four of the persons arrested belong to the same family, namely the father Biolet Dura ,( 71), his daughter Proficiency Diengdoh(32) ,both residents of Raimohan Lane, Wahingdoh, Block V, , his son Adrian Diengdoh( 20) and his daughter-in-law Saphiwanphylla Lyngdoh(19) both residents of Nongmensong .
The DRI Guwahati mounted surveillance on the movement of the family coming from Shillong on March 25 in and around Lalganesh area of Guwahati as they were expected to deliver the gold to buyers who were waiting in a nearby house.
Ten pieces of gold biscuits were recovered from Proficiency Diengdoh, Saphiwanphylla Lyngdoh and Adrian Diengdoh
The gold coins wer concealed in specially tailored inner garments.
“The detection of these specially tailored apparels with pouches stitched to them indicates their usage for trafficking high-value contraband in the past as well’, the DRI said..
Later, Rs. 57.70 lakh was also recovered from two buyers identified as Prasanjit Aditya and Pandu Pal Aditya both from Baksa district, Assam.
All the six persons are under judicial custody.
“It is estimated that about one-sixth of the total volume of gold entering India, is by way of illicit trade. India imports about 800-850 tonnes of gold every year while its annual consumption is around 1,000 tonnes. This suggests that roughly 150-200 tonnes of gold are being smuggled into the country every year”, the DRI said.
In the past one year, DRI Guwahati zonal unit along with its regional units in the Northeastern states seized more than 208 kg of gold valued over Rs 102.6 crore smuggled through the highly sensitive Indo-Myanmar and Indo-Bangladesh border, the DRI added.
