WATCH: Coast Guard Foils Bid To Smuggle Gold Worth Rs 20 Crore From Sri Lanka Via Fishing Boats

The operation was carried out jointly by the Indian Coast Guard and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Customs.

The operation was carried out jointly by the Indian Coast Guard and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Customs.

New Delhi: Revenue Intelligence officers on Thursday seized a gold consignment of 32.689 kgs worth approximately Rs 20.2 crores from two fishing boats at the Gulf of Mannar area off Tamil Nadu. The consignment was being smuggled from Sri Lanka by sea route, reported news agency ANI.

The operation was carried out jointly by the Indian Coast Guard and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Customs.

ANI shared the video of the operation along with the caption, "How Indian Coast Guard personnel, along with the DRI officials and Customs, carried out the special operation to seize 32.689 kgs of Gold valued at approx. Rs 20.2 Crores, from two fishing boats at the Gulf of Mannar area off Tamil Nadu."

#WATCH | How Indian Coast Guard personnel, along with the DRI officials and Customs, carried out the special operation to seize 32.689 kgs of Gold valued at approx. Rs 20.2 Crores, from two fishing boats at the Gulf of Mannar area off Tamil Nadu.

(Video: Indian Coast Guard) pic.twitter.com/fQOtJIWYbF

— ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2023

Taking to Twitter, the Indian Coast Guard said, "@IndiaCoastGuard in coordination with DRI thwarted smuggling of an illegal transhipment of gold in #GulfofMannar. Joint rummaging revealed that gold was thrown overboard which was successfully retrieved from seabed. It resulted in seizure of 32 kg 869.7g of gold worth Rs.20.2 Cr."

@IndiaCoastGuard in coordination with DRI thwarted smuggling of an illegal transhipment of gold in #GulfofMannar. Joint rummaging revealed that gold was thrown overboard which was successfully retrieved from seabed. It resulted in seizure of 32 kg 869.7g of gold worth Rs.20.2 Cr pic.twitter.com/1y2dpYtFjo

— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) June 1, 2023

In a similar incident in February, a joint operation between the Indian Coast Guard and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence led to the recovery of 17.7 kg of gold worth approximately Rs 10 crore from Mandapam seashore in Tamil Nadu after it was thrown by smugglers into the sea. 

According to an official statement, based on intelligence input from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Chennai, Indian Coast Guard Station Mandapam deployed a joint team onboard Interceptor Boat (IB) C-432 on February 7.

"The team maintained surveillance in the Gulf of Mannar for two days for any suspicious activity. On the night of February 8, the IB boarded a suspicious boat which was trying to escape at high speed to evade interception. On rummaging the boat, the suspected contraband was not found and it was suspected that same was thrown overboard during interception," the statement said.

A diving operation was conducted by the ICG team in the probable area and a consignment of 17.74 kg of gold was recovered from the sea bed.

The fishing boat alongwith 3 crew have been handed over to Coastal Security Group, Mandapam for further legal action.