Kolkata:

Gold, drugs, alcohol and various goods worth around Rs 140 crore and more than Rs 7 crore in cash were seized in West Bengal since the dates for the Lok Sabha polls were announced this month, an officer said Saturday.

According to data released by the Election Commission, the amount of cash seized till Saturday was around Rs 7.87 crore.

The EC also seized 12.7 lakh litres of alcohol with a market value of Rs 33.86 crore, he added.

“Drugs weighing around 3.5 kg worth Rs 18.28 crore were also seized,” he said.

The poll body also seized the yellow metal worth Rs 27.32 crore during this period, the official said.

“So far, we have also seized goods worth around Rs 36 crore and the total seizure is worth Rs 147.19 crore, including unaccounted cash,” he added.

There has been a trend of offering money and alcohol to buy votes for several years.

The Election Commission has declared six Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal as ‘financially sensitive’.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata Police, during a naka checking in Jorabagan area in the northern part of the city on Friday, seized around 15 kg of gold bars worth Rs 82 lakh and arrested five people who were travelling in a vehicle, an officer said.

An initial investigation revealed that the gold bars were smuggled from neighbouring Bangladesh through the border area of North 24 Parganas district, he added.

“It seems that these gold bars were smuggled through the Bangladesh border. We are trying to find out whether the consignment was meant for any agent belonging to any gold smuggling racket in Kolkata or not,” he added. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

 Mumbai Customs seized over 4.65 Kg of gold valued at Rs 2.49 crores across 12 different cases on Friday.

According to the Airport Commissionerate, Mumbai Customs Zone-III, gold was concealed in dry iron, frame of check-in bag, clothes worn, on the body of the pax, body cavity, check-in and cabin bag.

Earlier on February 22, Mumbai Customs seized over 8 kg of gold valued at approximately Rs 4 crores and five iPhones across eight different cases.

Gold was concealed in the frame of the check-in bag, box of crockery, clothes worn, hand bag.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Trichy, Tamil Nadu:

The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) at the Trichyairport in TamilNaduseized a gold bar, having a purity of 24 karats, from a passenger arriving from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), officials said on Wednesday.

According to officials, the seizure was made on October 17 (Tuesday).

The gold bar was extracted from gold paste kept in capsules concealed in the rectum by the passenger. The seizedgold, weighing 717 grams, was priced atRs42.91lakhs, a Customs Department official said.

Further details are awaited.

Earlier this month, the AIU at the TrichyairportseizedgoldworthRs 1,08,10,800 extracted from paste-like materials concealed in shoes and underwear worn by the children of a male passenger.

The passenger had arrived from Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)