DRI seizes 6 kg gold in Kolkata, four arrested

Kolkata, Aug 31 (IANS) Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on Saturday seized more than six kilograms of foreign gold from Kolkata's Burra Bazar area and arrested four persons in connection to it, a DRI official said.The incident came to light after the DRI officials intercepted an auto near central Kolkata's Burra Bazar area and seized 14 gold bars hidden in it. The seized gold is worth Rs 2.53 crore, the official said. "The auto driver Raj Kumar Sardar and three female passengers Rakhi Biswas, Namita Biswas and Rina Mondal were arrested from the spot. The women were used for transporting the smuggled gold from Indo-Bangladesh border into the city," he said. According to the DRI, the smuggling group lured the local poor ladies of Indo-Bangla adjoining areas of Bongaon by paying handsome money for carrying smuggled gold. "They used to carry the consignment through train/bus from border area to Salt Lake for handing over to Auto-driver for catering the gold to Burrabazar in Kolkata through another set of carriers to avoid detection by any law enforcement agencies," the DRI said in a statement.
--IANS mgr/rs