Man arrested with 61 gold biscuits in Manipur

Imphal: Imphal Customs Division on Thursday nabbed a gold smuggler, who was ferrying 61 gold biscuits in a van with three passengers, at Sekmai Bazar area in Imphal West district.

The smuggler was identified as Huidrom Mani Singh, son of Huidrom Roneshwar Singh, resident of Elangkhangpokpi Mayai Leikai, Kakching.

He fell in the hands of Customs officers who acted on an information of a vehicle carrying gold coming from Imphal City side along NH-2.

The team of Imphal Customs officers waited for the vehicle at Sekmai Bazar and stopped it at about 5 pm of the day. The vehicle was a silver EECO van bearing registration number AS-01-ES-1738.

The driver disclosed his identity to the officers. He denied when asked if he was carrying any contraband gold biscuits, Anti-Smuggling Unit, Imphal Customs Division superintendent Th.Nilakanta Singh said in a press statement released on Friday.

The Customs officers took the vehicle and the driver along with three passengers to Customs office at Sangakpham.

When the vehicle was searched 61 gold biscuits of foreign origin were found concealed inside the cylindrical pipe supporting the dashboard of the van. The gold biscuits were wrapped in black and green adhesive tape.

The weight of the gold biscuits was 10.126 kg in total, the Customs superintendent said.

In this connection, a case has been booked on the same day. The driver was arrested under Section 104 of Customs Act,1962.

It was told that the three passengers were found not connected with the gold smuggling.

The value of the seized gold biscuits is estimated at Rs 5, 20,88,144. Futher investigation to nab the other offender(s) of the case is going on, Nilakanta said.