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

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) intensified its crackdown on organised gold‑smuggling syndicates in a series of intelligence‑driven operations across India in July 2026. Over 27 kg of foreign‑origin gold was seized and 12 persons arrested. The operations uncovered sophisticated concealment methods – gold bars hidden in aircraft lavatory ceiling panels (12 kg), in a waist‑belt and handbag (5 kg), gold dust in wax retrieved by cleaning staff (3.7 kg), in specially fabricated utensils (4.6 kg), inside a passenger’s body (≈2 kg) and in a car cavity (≈2 kg). The smuggling routes involved arrivals from Addis Ababa, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Dubai.