Moradabad , Six alleged gold smugglers, who arrived from Dubai, were rescued after they were abducted by a gang impersonating as customs officers, police on Sunday said.
The smugglers had ingested a total of 29 gold capsules, weighing around 950 grams, said Senior Superintendent of Police Satpal Antil.
They arrived in India via two different routes four of them flew from Dubai to Mumbai and then to Delhi, while the other two landed directly in Delhi from Dubai.
Earlier on Saturday, the group, accompanied by a local driver, was en route to Tanda Badli in Rampur district when their vehicle was intercepted near a toll plaza in Moradabad by two vehicles whose occupants claimed to be customs officials.
The imposters abducted the group and took them to a secluded garden near Ronda Jhonda village in the Mundha Pandey Police Station area, where they threatened to kill the smugglers and extract the gold by force.
One of the victims, driver Zulfiqar, managed to escape and called the police through the 112 emergency helpline number.
Acting swiftly, Moradabad Police launched an operation and engaged the abductors in an encounter.
Two of the kidnappers, identified as Taufiq and Mohammad Raza from Kashipur, were injured and arrested, while efforts are on to trace their associates, police said.
The smugglers were taken to Moradabad District Hospital, where X-rays confirmed the presence of gold capsules in four individuals, they said.
Doctors began extracting the capsules through enema and 29 capsules had been retrieved by Sunday morning.
All six smugglers are currently in police custody and the customs officials have been notified.
Additional Superintendent of Police, City, Kunwar Ranvijay Singh, said that “legal action will be taken against the smugglers on advice of the customs officials”.
“The imposters, who posed as custom officials, have been sent to jail and legal action is underway against the smugglers,” he added.
Further investigation is underway, police said.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.