Officials of the Customs Commissionerate (Preventive), in the raids conducted in the last two days, have seized gold bars weighing 10.77 kg and worth about ₹5.80 crore being smuggled from Chennai to Guntur and Rajahmundry.
On a tip-off, a team of officers in Vijayawada intercepted three private vehicles at the Bollapalli toll gate on the Vijayawada-Chennai National Highway and seized them, an official release said on Sunday.
This was the highest-ever seizure of gold by the Customs Commissionerate in Vijayawada, the release added.
During questioning, the accused confessed to have concealed the gold in separate metal boxes behind the seats.
Based on their confession, further raids were conducted in Rajahmundry by the Kakinada Customs authorities, in which 24 silver bars, each weighing about 1 kg, were seized.
Five persons were arrested in the two raids. The accused were produced in the Economic Offences Court in Visakhapatnam, which remanded them in judicial custody.
