Siliguri, 01st March: DRI’s Siliguri unit apprehended two smugglers with gold biscuits from the general compartment of a Silchar-Secunderabad train halted at the NJP railway station. The arrested accused have been identified as Sheikh Akbar Ali (35) and Zakir Hussain Sheikh (40), both residents of Howrah.
According to DRI lawyer Ratan Banik, the Siliguri unit of DRI launched a tip-off operation in the general compartment of the train at NJP station and apprehended Sheikh Akbar Ali and Zakir Hussain Sheikh based on suspicion. During a search, the officials recovered ten gold biscuits from their waist, pockets, and luggage. Subsequently, the accused were arrested upon failure to produce legitimate documents for the gold.
Reportedly, the recovered gold weighed about 1 kg 165 grams worth an estimated market value of Rs 72,98,725. Significantly, the gold was to be smuggled from the Indo-Bangladesh border to Cuttack via Siliguri and North East. On Friday, both the smugglers were produced in the Siliguri court. However, defense lawyer Akhil Biswas stated that the DRI had wrongfully implicated his client in the case and the DRI was unable to prove in court that the confiscated gold was foreign. Based on no particular evidence, the accused were granted bail.