NAGAPATTINAM: In a major haul, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) personnel seized 14.082 kg of gold and arrested two persons on Friday near the Nagore checkpost in the district.
Acting on a tip-off that huge quantity of gold is being smuggled from Nagapattinam to Chennai, two teams of DRI sleuths from Tuticorin and Chennai, on suspicion, gave a hot chase to a black coloured Toyota Innova car bearing registration number PY-02-F-0007, and caught it near the Nagore checkpost. When they checked the SUV, they found 14.082 kg of gold hidden inside the vehicle.
The officials apprehended the occupants of the vehicle identified as Musthafa Kamal (24), son of Iqbal and Mohammed Idrish Maraicayar (32), son of Mohammed Ibrahim Maraicayar (32), both from Nagore.
The officials confiscated the gold which is said to be worth `3.98 crore and also seized the vehicle.
Sources said that the smugglers had planned to take the route via Karaikal and were heading to Chennai. The youth were produced before the JM Court I in Nagapattinam, who remanded them to judicial custody for 15 days till September 5.