Officials of the Directorate Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have seized 4.9 kilograms of foreign-origin gold, mid sea near the Vedhalai coast, Mandapam in Ramanathapuram district.
The operation was conducted jointly with the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Customs Preventive Unit (CPU), Ramanathapuram, as per a press release.
Following specific intelligence that foreign-origin gold was being smuggled into India from Sri Lanka through the Vedhalai coast by a gang using a fishing boat, surveillance was stepped up along coastal pockets. The movement of suspected fishing boats was closely monitored from April 3, and in the early hours of April 4, 2024, officers identified a boat mid-sea and pursued it in an ICG vessel. As they were getting closer, the team saw that a consignment was thrown into the sea by one of the persons on board the suspected boat.
