Ludhiana, September 10

Two people have been arrested here for allegedly smuggling gold from Dubai in the form of gold paste, police said on Sunday.

Ludhiana Police Commissioner Mandeep Singh Sidhu said they recovered 1.230 kg of gold paste based on a tip-off.

Those arrested have been identified as 30-year-old Azad Singh and 22-year-old Ashu Kumar alias Ashu, Sidhu said.

Both are residents of Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, but are currently living in Amritsar, he added.

The Police Commissioner said two others, including alleged mastermind Puneet Singh alias Guru, who live in Dubai, are absconding.

The arrested persons revealed during interrogation that Guru used to lure unsuspecting passengers to act as conduits by paying for their tickets or Rs 20,000 in cash, police said, adding he then used to hand over the gold paste packet to them to be delivered in Amritsar.

The Police Commissioner said the modus operandi of the gang also used to include the marking of bags containing gold paste packets and sending the picture of the conduit to their receiver on WhatsApp to identify the courier.

He added that the recovered gold paste is valued at Rs 75 lakh in the international market.

Sidhu said more than 50 such consignments amounting to more than Rs 30 crore have been smuggled by this gang through the Amritsar airport alone in the last one-and-a-half months.

He added that the Customs department has been informed and further investigations were being carried out.