Indian authorities, in a collaborative effort involving the Indian Coast Guard and Customs Preventive Unit (CPU) in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, seized 4.9 kilograms of foreign-origin gold during a mid-sea operation near the Vedhalai coast, Mandapam.
Following specific intelligence gathered by DRI officers indicating the smuggling of foreign-origin gold from Sri Lanka into India through the Vedhalai coast in Ramanathapuram District, a vigilant surveillance operation was launched. On the night of April 3-4, DRI and Indian Coast Guard personnel monitored suspicious fishing boat activities in the Vedhalai Coastal area near Mandapam.
In the early hours of April 4, officers identified a suspicious boat at mid-sea and pursued it using an Indian Coast Guard vessel, ultimately intercepting it. However, just before interception, one individual on board the suspect vessel discarded a consignment into the sea.
Upon interrogation, the three individuals aboard the vessel confessed that the discarded consignment contained foreign-origin gold smuggled from Sri Lanka. The gold was received at deep sea from a Sri Lankan boat.
The CPU Ramanathapuram also joined the operation, securing the location where the gold was discarded and initiating a search operation. After an extensive search, the smuggled gold weighing 4.9 kilograms and valued at approximately Rs 3.43 crore was retrieved from the seabed on the afternoon of April 5.
The seized gold, comprised of crude bars of various sizes, was tightly packed in a towel and thrown into the sea in an attempt to evade detection.
All three individuals involved in the smuggling attempt have been apprehended and are currently undergoing interrogation by DRI officials.
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