RAMANATHAPURAM: Sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Customs Preventive Unit (CPU) seized 4.9 kilos of foreign origin gold, worth Rs 3.43 crore, mid-sea near Vedalai coast, off Mandapam in Ramanathapuram district.
Official sources said that based on a tip-off about illegal gold smuggling from Sri Lanka, through Vedalai, on a fishing boat, DRI and ICG sleuths heightened surveillance since Thursday. Early on Friday, the officers spotted a boat and a chase ensued. Just before the boat was intercepted, an accused threw the consignment into the sea.
As the boat was seized, three accused onboard the country boat were apprehended and interrogated. They admitted that the consignment thrown into the sea contained gold smuggled in from Sri Lanka, and was to be retrieved by people from Sri Lanka at deep sea.
Meanwhile, CPU sleuths from Ramanathapuram also reached the spot where the gold was thrown into the sea. In the evening, the gold was recovered after an extensive search of the sea bed.
Further investigation is underway.