DRI busts cross-border gold smuggling racket in West Bengal; 24 kg foreign-origin gold worth ₹34 crore seized, seven held

📌 Summary:

• The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) dismantled an organised gold-smuggling syndicate operating along the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal
• In an intelligence-led operation, seven persons were intercepted on motorcycles travelling from Krishnanagar towards Chakdaha (Nadia district)
• Recovered 180 foreign-marked and defaced gold bars (~24 kg, worth ~₹34 crore), concealed in specially tailored cloth belts worn around the waist
• Gold seized under the Customs Act, 1962; all seven persons arrested
• Carriers had collected the gold near the Indo-Bangladesh border for onward delivery—illustrating porous-border organised crime and its enforcement challenges

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 – Internal Security: border management, organised cross-border crime and smuggling; the DRI's role as India's apex anti-smuggling intelligence agency.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• DRI = Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the apex anti-smuggling agency under CBIC (Ministry of Finance)
• Seizure made under the Customs Act, 1962
• Location: Nadia district, West Bengal (Indo-Bangladesh border)

🔑 Key Term: Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) – the apex intelligence and enforcement agency under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), tasked with countering smuggling and commercial fraud.