Gold from Sri Lanka seized, six arrested

The Marine police of the Coastal Security Group (CSG) in India have arrested six people, including four fishermen, who brought 1.5 kg of smuggled gold bars from Sri Lanka and seized the gold.

Acting on specific information from CSG Superintendent of Police Manoharan in Chennai, a special team, led by CSG Additional Superintendent of Police (ADSP) C.Kanagasabapathi and Inspector of Police Ramesh Kumar arrested four fishermen at the Karaiyur seashore in Rameswaram after midnight on Thursday.

Mr. Kanagasabapathi said the fishermen who received the gold bars on the high seas off Katchatheevu from two persons who had come from Talaimannar in a fibreglass boat, were returning to the shore when the team arrested them and seized the gold.

Those who came from Talaimannar had contacted the fishermen and asked them to wait at a Global Positioning System (GPS) based location on the high seas before they came to the point and handed over the gold bars to them, he also said.

“The seven finger-sized gold bars had no foreign markings and weighed about 1.5 kg,” he said adding the four fishermen were paid a total amount of Rs 30,000 for bringing the smuggled gold from the high seas in a country boat.

Even as the Marine police were questioning the Rameswaram fishermen – M.Veeraraghavan (28), N.Balamurugan (26), his brother N.Balasubramanian (24) and R.Kaleeswaran (22), one of them received a call in his mobile phone, after which, the police arrested two more persons, identified as S.Azad Amir (35) and S.Rajabu (35).

Amir hailed from Ekkakudi, near Uthirakosamangai and Rajabu from Pudumadam. They were the agents of “receivers” of the smuggled gold, the ADSP said. All the six were arrested under section 111 of the Customs Act (illegally imported goods, liable for confiscation) and being taken to the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate court in Madurai for judicial remand, he said.

After the Marine police produced the accused and handed over the seized property to the court, the Customs is likely to move a petition and take the accused in their custody for questioning and investigation as the gold was seized in custom’s notified area, sources said. – The Hindu