DRI intensifies crackdown on gold smuggling; seizes 27 kg smuggled gold in intelligence-led nationwide operations; 12 arrested

📌 Summary:

• The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized over 27 kg of foreign-origin smuggled gold and arrested 12 persons in a series of intelligence-led nationwide operations against organised gold-smuggling syndicates
• Concealment methods exposed: 12 kg gold bars hidden in the ceiling panels of an aircraft's rear lavatory (three passengers from Addis Ababa intercepted at Mumbai); 3.7 kg gold dust in wax form retrieved by compromised aircraft cleaning staff at Mumbai Airport; 5 kg (42 bars) hidden in a waist belt and handbag on the Brahmaputra Mail, smuggled in via Bangladesh
• Also used: specially fabricated cavities in vehicles and utensils, and body concealment
• Highlights the evolving modus operandi of smuggling syndicates and the role of insider collusion (airport/airline staff)

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 Internal Security — organised crime and smuggling networks, border and customs enforcement, and the nexus between illicit trade and insider collusion.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• DRI = Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the apex anti-smuggling agency under the CBIC (Ministry of Finance)
• Total seizure: 27+ kg gold; 12 persons arrested
• Smuggling routes: Addis Ababa (air), Bangladesh (land/rail)

🔑 Key Term: DRI — Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the premier intelligence and enforcement agency for anti-smuggling under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.