Gold bars worth Rs 1.5 crore seized by DRI at Patna junction

PATNA: Acting on a specific intelligence input, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths arrested one person and seized Swiss manufactured gold bars weighing 5.1 kilograms from an AC coach of Vibhuti Express at Patna junction on Saturday.
DRI sources said that the estimated value of the seized gold bars were at least Rs 1.56 crore in international market and was smuggled into India from Bangladesh.They said that the arrested person was identified as Gyan Chand Verma (48) of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. He was also involved in hawala transactions.
“Verma himself is a jeweller and also owns a jewellery shop at Govindpura Chowk at Varanasi,” DRI sources.
They said that Verma was involved in gold bar smuggling since last several months and he himself used to smuggle the gold with help of some other Bangladesh based gold smugglers.
“Verma was travelling in coach B3 of Vibhuti Express. He had boarded the train at Howrah and was travelling back to Varanasi. The gold bars were concealed inside his belt on waist,” DRI sources said.
They said that as soon as the train reached Patna junction, Verma was asked to deboard the train and was frisked after which the gold bars were recovered from his possession.
Sources said that Verma travelled upto Petrapole of North 24 Parganas which is located on Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal and there he was handed over the bars.
“He travelled upto Howran in a taxi from where he boarded Vibhuti Express for reaching Varanasi,” DRI sources said.
DRI sources, quoting confessional statement of Verma, said that he had accepted before DRI sleuths that he was involved in the gold smuggling for at least last six months.
“Verma was also into hawala transactions. He used to send money to Bangladeshi smugglers through hawala,” DRI sources said.
DRI sources claimed that the Saturday’s seizure was the biggest seizure of gold in Bihar in last several years. They said that raids were conducted in Kolkata and Varanasi on indications of Verma for nabbing suspects involved in gold smuggling.