Shillong, September 24 : Customs officials in Meghalaya have seized Rs 1.02 crore worth of gold smuggled from Bangladesh and arrested three people in this connection.
Acting on specific information, Customs officials intercepted a Mahindra XUV500 car at Jhalupara, Shillong in the early morning of September 23 and recovered 14 pieces of gold weighing 1632.450 grams, valued at Rs 1,01,78,326/-. The car had one occupant, a resident of Rangia in Assam though originally from West Bengal. , who confessed that the gold was smuggled from Bangladesh.
During interrogation, the occupant revealed the details of a middleman who had handed him 7 pieces of gold. The Customs officials intercepted the middleman at Jhalupara and he further revealed that he had collected the gold from a lady at a shop in iewduh Shillong.
The Customs officials raided the shop and recovered Rs. 9.5 Lakh, which is admitted to be sale proceeds of smuggled gold. The lady was also interrogated and she revealed that the gold was smuggled from the Indo-Bangladesh border.
Three persons have been arrested in this connection and further investigation is in progress.
In another case in the last one month, the Customs officials in Meghalaya have seized 5 gold biscuits weighing 582.70 grams, recovered from a person travelling in a Maruti 800 car which was intercepted near Jorabat. This gold was smuggled from the Indo-Bangladesh border at Bholaganj.
The Customs officials raided a house in Lumparing from which the gold was collected and recovered Indian currency amounting to Rs. 3.96 Crore, believed to be sale proceeds of smuggled gold.
The Customs officials have appealed to the public to support the fight against cross border crime, smuggling and trade based money laundering by giving information to Customs. The names of informers are not only kept confidential, but there is also an excellent reward scheme, which is Income Tax free.
