MUZAFFARPUR: The GRP personnel on Thursday seized four kilograms of gold worth about Rs1.25 crore from two passengers at Sugauli railway station.
They were travelling in a sleeper class coach of Raxaul-Howrah Mithila Express.
Muzaffarpur railway SP Birendra Narayan Jha said the GRP personnel were on a drive to check smuggling of fake Indian currency from Nepal side when they stumbled on four gold bricks, each weighing about one kilogram, in the possession of two persons identified as Sumit Goenka of Sutapatty and Awadhesh Pandey of Rambag, both in Muzaffarpur town.
The arrested passengers had boarded the train at Raxaul for Muzaffarpur. During interrogation, the two said they were simply carriers. One Santosh Jain at Birgunj in Nepal had given them the gold bricks to deliver to one Dheeraj at Muzaffarpur.
Gold is a bit cheaper in Nepal. When it comes to India without paying customs duty, it becomes all the more cheap, police sources said.
The railway police were verifying their statements.
The smugglers had concealed the gold bricks inside their shoes. It was very difficult for the GRP men to detect the metal.
However, they became suspicious due to the large size and heavy weight of their shoes.
The GRP men brought the seized gold to Muzaffarpur and the SRP has announced a reward for the policemen who were part of the major operation.
