Smuggling racket busted, 2 apprehended

Kolkata: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) busted an active smuggling syndicate and seized over 10 kg of gold and 42 kg silver along with 20.16 lakh Indian currency from three premises located at the central business hub Burrabazar. The DRI sleuths also apprehended two persons in this connection. The total value of seized goods including gold, silver and currency notes is over Rs 6.42 crore.

The raid was conducted on the basis of an information that a syndicate under the control of one Anurag Jalan was actively involved in smuggling of gold in biscuit from the Indo- Bangaldesh border of North 24-Parganas which they melted and converted into bar form.

The three places from which the recovery was made include the office premises of a saree store at Chetan Seth Street, a jewellery premises at Nalini Seth Road and another bullion business premises at Manohar Das

Street.

White coloured silver granules of foreign origin, mixed white coloured coins of different shapes and sizes made of silver yellow coloured metallic coins made of smuggled gold of foreign origin and Indian currency notes were seized.

Four metallic bars and five cut pieces gold of foreign origin was recovered from the office premises of the saree store.

Anurag Jalan and one of his staff Baikunth Prasad caretaker of the Manohar Das Street premises have been arrested by DRI.

A senior DRI official informed that the name of

Jalan had also featured in two earlier gold smuggling cases of DRI that includes seizure of 3

kg smuggled gold on October

23 last year and 4 kg of

smuggled gold from Patna on January 10.