DRI seizes 20.6 kg gold, arrests 4, including kingpin

According to an official statement issued on Wednesday, all the four accused — the kingpin, his aide and close relative, and two carriers -— were remanded in judicial custody.

The DRI officials went to a house in Choolaimedu based on a tip-off and seized the gold which was hidden by the syndicate.

“Interrogation of the apprehended persons revealed that the Chennai-based kingpin used to organise operatives who would work in the domestic sector of various airports, collect gold bars from transit passengers at the respective airports and carry them back to Chennai and hand them over to the kingpin and his aides,” a statement from the DRI said.

An investigation revealed that the seized gold was smuggled from Dubai to Chennai through Mumbai in a similar manner.

“A part of the gold was also smuggled directly from Sri Lanka to India through the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu,” the release said. Due to high demand for gold during the festival season, and possibly on account of the steep rise in gold prices in the last quarter, there has been a spurt in the activities of organised gangs indulging in smuggling of gold into the country, it said.