North East (NE) still gold smuggling corridor for smugglers

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: In keeping with the recent trend, smugglers are continuing to use the Northeast as a favoured route for transporting contraband gold, but enhanced alertness on the part of sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is proving to be a stumbling block for the criminals.

According to DRI sources, recent gold seizures in the Northeast by the agency indicate a spurt in the smuggling of gold through the borders of Bangladesh and Myanmar into the Northeastern states. Over 115 kg of contraband gold was seized in 11 incidents in September 2022 alone. This shows that the Northeast corridor is still being extensively used by smugglers, who are deploying ingenious ways of concealment.

Acting on specific intelligence reports, the DRI recently made three coordinated interceptions at Patna, Delhi and Mumbai and seized 65.46 kg of foreign-origin gold worth Rs 33.40 crore. The gold was consigned from Aizawl to Mumbai in domestic courier consignments. The gold was concealed in gunny bags declared as clothes, the DRI sources said.

The sources said that in yet another case of smuggling through the same route, the DRI made another big haul of smuggled foreign-origin gold weighing approximately 23.23 kg and valued at about Rs 11.65 crore, which was being smuggled from Myanmar. Specific intelligence indicated that a substantial quantity of foreign-origin gold will be attempted to be smuggled from Champhai in Aizawl, Mizoram to Kolkata in West Bengal by concealing them in the vehicle. Officers of the DRI mounted surveillance on the highway connecting Siliguri and Guwahati on September 28 and September 29. Four passengers travelling in two vehicles were identified and intercepted. During a search of the vehicles, 23.23 kg of gold – which was concealed in the vehicles' bodies in the form of 21 cylindrical pieces - was recovered. The gold in this case was cast to fit the specially-made cavity inside the cross-member metal pipe connecting the right and left rails of the chassis behind the rear wheels and suspension in both vehicles. The recovered gold had been smuggled into India from Myanmar through the Zokhawthar border in Mizoram.

In the other nine cases in September last, the DRI recovered and seized 27 kg of smuggled gold from various carriers coming from the Northeastern states and bound for other parts of the country. The detections and seizures provided fresh insight into the new modus operandi of smuggling foreign-origin gold into India through the Northeast, the sources added.

The DRI sources further informed that apart from smuggled gold, the agency seized over 21,000 kg of narcotics – including methamphetamine, ganja and heroin – so far this year in the Northeast. The estimated market value of the seized narcotics is around Rs 65 crore, the DRI sources said.

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