DRI seizes Rs 3.3 crores worth gold in Chennai Airport

CHENNAI: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized Rs 3.3 crores of gold which was smuggled from Sri Lanka and arrested four people including the pickup bus driver at Chennai airport on Tuesday.

Based on information, a huge quantity of gold is being smuggled from Sri Lanka in the early morning and the pickup vehicle driver would collect the baggage and bring the gold safely outside the airport.

Subsequently, the DRI sleuths went to the Chennai airport in casual clothes and with special permission from the BCAS went near the runway and were waiting for the flight to land in Chennai.

Around 4.20 am after the flight landed at the Chennai airport, the passengers went to the immigration check through the aero bridge.

The luggage of the passengers was being transferred to the pickup vehicle. At that time the DRI noticed that the van driver Raj Kumar (35) had taken two bags and kept them with him near the driver's seat.

Soon the DRI officials went and checked the baggage and found both had gold bars and bolts inside. The officials found the gold weighed about 5.5 kgs worth Rs 3.3 crores. Later the officials arrested Raj Kumar and during the inquiry, he said that the baggage belonged to Mohamed Akram (30) and Mohamed Wasim (28) of Sri Lanka and he was about to hand over the baggage to them outside the airport. Following that the DRI arrested Mohamed Akram and Mohamed Wasim while they were on the customs checkup and all three of them were taken to the DRI head office in T Nagar.

During the interrogation, the officials found that international smuggler Rifaideen (45) of Chennai was behind this smuggling and Akram and Wasim were about to hand over the gold only to him. Later the officials arrested Rifaideen in Chennai and they found that four months ago he was already arrested in a smuggling case and was released from prison two months ago on bail. The DRI is investigating further to find who are involved in the smuggling racket.