Gold worth ₹2.5 crore seized in the Nilgiris

Flight crew officials in the Nilgiris seized gold worth ₹ 2.5 crore, which was transported to the region by a private logistics company on Tuesday evening.

The jewelery brought to the Nilgiris to be given to private jewelery stores was confiscated after the company officials did not submit the necessary documents for the transportation of the valuables.

This seizure was the first major seizure in the Nilgiris since the Legislative Assembly election was announced, following which the Model of Conduct (MCC) came into force, stipulating that people carrying more than £50,000 in cash and goods worth more than £10,000 must have adequate documentation.

Officials from flying squads in the Nilgiris, while checking vehicles near Doddabetta on Tuesday, stopped the vehicle carrying the jewelery bound for Udhagamandalam. “During the search, we found gold worth ₹ 2.5 crore for which the persons in the vehicle could not produce documents. As a result, the gold was seized along with the van in which it was carried,” officials said.

The company told officials that the gold would be given to private jewelery stores in the Nilgiris. The gold was handed over to the revenue department and the company was told to submit documents proving its claims and then the jewelery would be returned to them.

On Tuesday, Nilgiris Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru and Superintendent of Police NS Nisha also inspected vehicle checks carried out by flying squads in the district. Officials said that ₹7 lakh cash was seized from various persons on Tuesday and they have directed them to produce documents for the return of the seized amounts.