HYDERABAD: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 5.832 kg of foreign-origin gold worth Rs 8.98 crore from a car near Visakhapatnam on October 8. Two persons travelling from Kolkata to Hyderabad were arrested in connection with the seizure.
In a press release on Sunday, the DRI said its officials had heightened surveillance along the National Highway based on intelligence inputs. After a prolonged chase, they intercepted the car on the night of October 8. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a specially fabricated cavity beneath the front co-passenger seat. Three packets containing 5,832.90 grams of 24-carat, 999-purity gold were recovered from the cavity, the release added.
According to the DRI, the gold had been smuggled into India through the India-Bangladesh border and was being transported to Hyderabad.
The gold was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. The two accused were arrested and produced before the jurisdictional magistrate, who remanded them to judicial custody. Further investigation is under way.