Shillong, Dec 15: The Commissioner of Customs Preventive (CCP) has seized gold biscuits and garlic of Chinese origin.
In a statement, the CCP said that acting on specific information that a sizable quantity of gold of foreign origin smuggled across the border would be carried in a car to Barpeta, the officers of Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Shillong intercepted a Maruti EECO van in the evening of December 13 at Diengpasoh, on the outskirts of Shillong.
On interrogation, it was revealed that the smuggled goods were concealed in the van. On thorough search of the vehicle, smuggled gold of foreign origin was found concealed in a specially built cavity in the floor area of the middle seat. Thereafter, 20 pieces of gold, which were packed and wrapped with black tape in four packets, were recovered. Total weight was 2331.82 grams valued at Rs.1.42 crore. One person has been arrested and further investigation is in progress.
In a separate case on December 14, the Customs sleuths seized 50 bags weighing a total of 950 kgs of garlic of Chinese origin bearing the brand name HUAGUANG, which appears to have been smuggled across the border. Further investigation is in progress.
The Customs said it remains committed to combating all types of cross border crime involving smuggling of gold, cigarettes, drugs and narcotics, wild life articles, Fake Indian Currency Notes, import-export frauds and trade based money laundering. Customs works in close partnership with various other law enforcement agencies.
Anybody can support the fight against cross border crime, smuggling and trade based money laundering by giving information to Customs. The names of informer are not only kept confidential, but there is an excellent reward scheme also, which is Income Tax free. For details of the reward scheme, people can download the document athttps://old.cbic.gov.in/resources//htdocs-cbec/gst/reward-scheme-for-informers.pdf.
