Chennai: A joint anti-smuggling operation by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and officials from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) resulted in seizure of approximately nine kilograms of gold in Gulf of Mannar, off Tamilnadu coast.
The gold bars worth Rs 4.5 crore were recovered from a fishing boat named Sailor.
According to a press release here, the two-day joint operation took place after DRI sources received a tip off that gold was being smuggled into India through sea route from Sri Lanka. Based on actionable intelligence provided by DRI officials, a well-coordinated operation was launched by Coast Guard Station Mandapam resulting in apprehension of five fishermen along with their fishing boat.
During the rummaging, it was found that the seized gold bars were hidden under the engine bay camouflaged in a cloth bag.
During investigation it was revealed that, the apprehended boat allegedly received the contraband in Gulf of Mannar and was proceeding to Marakkayar Pattinam close to Mandapam.
The seized items along with the fishermen and boat were handed over to the DRI for further investigations. Earlier in March 2020, in a similar operation Indian Coast Guard has recovered 15 kilograms of gold dumped from fishing boats at sea near Rameshwaram Coast.