RAMANATHAPURAM: Officials from the Indian Coast Guard and the directorate of revenue intelligence retrieved 17.74kg of gold of smuggled gold bars worth Rs 10.5 crore near Mandapam in Ramanathapuram on Thursday. The three suspects on Wednesday had allegedly thrown the bag of gold into the sea. The officials were patrolling the Gulf of Mannar sea following a tip-off.
"Getting suspicious of the three suspects in a country boat, officials tried to stop them. They dropped the bag in panic and fled. They were arrested later and were identified as Nagoorkani, Anwar, and Mansur Ali from Mandapam. Upon further inquiry, the suspects confessed they were trying to smuggle 20 kg gold bars from Sri Lanka to Ramanathapuram. Deep sea swimmers of the Indian Coast Guard found the gold on Thursday morning. The recovered gold will be handed over to the customs department," added sources.