KALPETTA (Wayanad): Kerala excise officers busted a Bengaluru-based gang that was trying to smuggle 30 kg of gold ornaments worth Rs 10 crore to Kerala from Karnataka through the Tholpetty border check post on Tuesday.
Tipped off in advance, excise officers stopped a private interstate service luxury bus at the checkpost and searched it. The gold ornaments were found stuffed into four bags and hidden under the rear seat of the bus, excise preventive officer K Ramesh said.
The arrested gang members were identified as Sakesh B, Abhay M, Chambaram, Madanlal, Vikram and Kamalesh. As per a preliminary probe, the gold was being smuggled in for a leading jewellery in Kozhikode.
The seized gold and the arrested were later handed over to the sales tax department. Both the police and excise departments have intensified vehicle checks at border posts in Wayanad, thoroughly scouring in particular interstate service buses, which are being widely used by gangs to smuggle contraband.