Siliguri, 05th November: In a significant breakthrough, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) team exposed attempted foreign gold smuggling at Siliguri Junction Railway Station and arrested two individuals. The arrested accused have been identified as Phub Tshering (50) and Amjath Khan (33). Phub Tshering is stated to be a resident of Bhutan while Amjath Khan is from Tamil Nadu.
According to reports, the foreign gold was brought to Bhutan from Bangkok. Meanwhile, Phub and Amjath crossed the Indo-Bhutan with the said gold and planned to smuggle it from Alipurduar by Kolkata-bound Kanchankanya Express train. However, the DRI team arrived at the station and exposed the smuggling bid.
As soon as the train arrived at the Siliguri Junction railway station, the DRI team launched an operation and apprehended Phub Tshering and Amjath Khan, based on suspicion. During the subsequent search, DRI spotted a computer SMPS placed inside a bag containing. Upon further search, 10 pieces of gold biscuits, weighing 1 kg, cleverly hidden inside the SMPS device, were recovered. The market value of the seized gold is estimated to be about 61 lakh 11 thousand rupees. In addition, two iPhones have also been recovered, followed by their arrest.
On Sunday, both the accused were produced in the court. As the seized gold was not in commercial quantity, the judge accepted the bail petition of both the accused on condition and bail bound. While accepting the bail petition, the judge directed both the accused to deposit a bail bond of Rs 15,000 each and visit the Inquiry Officer once a week. Currently, the DRI is engaged in further investigation.