Archive · 5 Aug 2026
DRI Busts ₹1.39 Crore Gold Smuggling at Katni Railway Station
Some people tried to sneak gold into India without following the rules.
That is called smuggling.
Smart detectives called the DRI found out about the plan.
The gold was hidden inside a special cloth belt that a person wore around their waist.
The detectives stopped a train and caught the suspects at a station in Katni.
The people were carrying the gold to a jeweller in the city.
The detectives also searched the jeweller's shop and found more gold.
All together, they found about 969 grams of gold worth around 1.39 crore rupees.
Three people were arrested for breaking the law.
In another operation at an airport in Indore, the same team caught people hiding gold in bracelets.
DRI intercepted two people at Katni Junction railway station travelling on the Howrah–CSMT Mumbai Mail (Train No. 12321) from Howrah.
A foreign-origin gold bar weighing 748.10 grams was found concealed in a specially made cloth waist belt.
A follow-up search at a Katni-based jeweller's premises recovered another 220.9 grams of foreign-origin gold.
In total, 969 grams of smuggled gold worth approximately ₹1.39 crore was seized and three people were arrested under the Customs Act, 1962.
In a separate operation at Indore's Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport, DRI seized 1.02 kg of 24-carat gold worth around ₹1.44 crore and arrested five people, including an Air India Express employee.
- Who
- Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officers arrested three people in Katni and five people in Indore, including an Air India Express employee, in two gold smuggling cases.
- What
- DRI seized 969 grams of smuggled gold worth about ₹1.39 crore at Katni Junction railway station, and separately seized 1.02 kg of 24-carat gold worth about ₹1.44 crore at Indore airport.
- When
- The articles do not specify exact dates; the seizures were reported recently.
- Where
- Katni Junction railway station in Madhya Pradesh (accused had boarded at Howrah Railway Station), and Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
- Why
- The gold was being smuggled from foreign origins to a Katni-based jeweller to evade customs; DRI acts to safeguard India's national and economic security.
- Total gold seized (Katni)
- 969 grams
- Estimated value (Katni)
- Approximately ₹1.39 crore
- People arrested (Katni)
- 3, under the Customs Act, 1962
- Concealment method
- Gold bar hidden in a specially made cloth waist belt
- Train
- Howrah–CSMT Mumbai Mail (Train No. 12321)
- Indore airport seizure
- 1.02 kg of 24-carat gold, worth about ₹1.44 crore
- People arrested (Indore)
- 5, including an Air India Express employee