7.5kg gold, 95kg silver haul from secret car chamber in Chhattisgarh’s Mahasamund

Raipur: Chhattisgarh police recovered over 7.5 kg of gold jewellery worth more than Rs 9 crore from a luxury car hidden in a secret chamber during a late-night check in Mahasamund district, while a separate operation in Ambikapur led to the seizure of 95.5 kg of silver anklets and 760 old mobile phones, triggering parallel probes into illegal transport, stolen property and suspected links to organised crime and cyber fraud.

In Mahasamund, police intercepted the Gujarat-registered car near the Rehtikhol check-post on NH-353 in Singoda during intensified night patrolling and interstate vehicle checks on Tuesday. The car was stopped while entering Chhattisgarh from Odisha, and its three occupants — Jayesh Akbari (32), Sunit Karena (22) and Rushi Agrawat (26), all residents of Rajkot in Gujarat — allegedly gave inconsistent replies during questioning, prompting a detailed search.

Police said a specially designed secret chamber had been concealed beneath the rear seat. Inside it, officers found two backpacks carrying six plastic containers filled with gold ornaments. The jewellery weighed more than 7.5 kg and was valued at Rs 9.17 crore, while the vehicle was also seized, taking the total value of confiscated property to nearly Rs 9.28 crore.

Officials said the men could not produce valid purchase bills, transport permits or ownership documents for the consignment. They have been detained and are being questioned about the source and destination of the gold, while the income tax department and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence have been informed to examine possible tax evasion, illegal bullion movement or hawala-linked transactions.

In the other seizure, Ambikapur police in Surguja district recovered 95.5 kg of old silver anklets and 760 used mobile phones from an Omni van during vehicle checking outside Gandhinagar police station on Banaras Road. Five youths from Murshidabad district in West Bengal — Sentu Sheikh, Gaffar, Asim, Ibrahim and Mashdul — were taken into custody after they allegedly failed to give satisfactory explanations about the consignment.

Police said the silver ornaments and mobile phones could be stolen property or part of an illegal collection network. Investigators are also checking whether the old phones were meant for use in cyber fraud or digital scam operations. The accused were later produced before a court and sent to judicial custody, police said.