Now Reading: DRI seizes gold and currency worth Rs 5.84 crore near Vijayawada
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DRI seizes gold and currency worth Rs 5.84 crore near Vijayawada
The Story in Brief
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials have seized foreign-origin gold and foreign currency collectively valued at Rs 5.84 crore near Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, and arrested five people. The operation on Sunday, 18 October, targeted a smuggling network that sourced gold from Bangladesh and moved it through Kolkata to Hyderabad.
DRI officials intercepted an SUV on the outskirts of Vijayawada and recovered US$60,000 and €21,500 from a concealed compartment. The two occupants reportedly admitted delivering a gold consignment and said the currency was sale proceeds. Acting on that information, officials stopped a passenger bus at a toll plaza and found three carriers with three gold bars weighing 3,147.1 grams concealed in pouches tied around their waists.
All five accused were produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody on Tuesday, 20 October. The DRI said further investigation is underway to identify the wider syndicate.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The DRI-led coverage by The Hindu and The South First leads with the agency’s interception details and the smuggling route from Bangladesh through Kolkata, while Yes Punjab and Odisha TV highlight the gold’s passage through Odisha and the judicial custody date. CNBC-TV18 and Hans India reprint the DRI’s own statement. All six outlets agree on the core facts identical, with each adding one extra detail specific to its regional lens. The uniformity across sources suggests the DRI release was the sole briefing, leaving no official statement on the wider syndicate’s identity, which remains the open question as investigation continues.
Coverage: 6 sources, 6 neutral
Sources (6): thehansindia.com (neutral report), thehindu.com (neutral report), thesouthfirst.com (neutral report), odishatv.in (neutral report), yespunjab.com (neutral report), cnbctv18.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 6 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
Update, 21 October 2026: this story now draws on 6 sources.
