ED attaches Rs 54 crore smuggled gold in Guwahati, probe exposes Myanmar-UAE route

September 23, 2026

Guwahati: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Guwahati Zonal Office-I, has provisionally attached gold and silver-coloured metal flakes worth more than Rs 54 crore in connection with a money laundering investigation into an alleged gold smuggling network operating through Assam.

According to an ED statement issued on Wednesday, the agency has attached 37.064 kg of gold, comprising 29 big-sized gold bars and 50 small-sized pieces, along with approximately 13 grams of silver-coloured metal flakes, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The gold was earlier seized by Assam Police on June 30 from the alleged conscious possession of Akshay Parshuram Bansode at Kharguli Hatisil in Guwahati. The seized material is currently kept in safe custody at the Kamrup Metro Treasury, the agency said.

The ED initiated its investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Latasil Police Station in Kamrup (Metro) district in connection with alleged organised illegal transportation and concealment of smuggled gold and criminal conspiracy. During the investigation, the ED found that Bansode had allegedly been involved for several years in transporting gold across India on the instructions of an unidentified person who was allegedly controlling a syndicate of couriers.

The agency said the alleged syndicate used a coded identification system and paid couriers a fixed monthly remuneration. According to the ED, the investigation indicates that the seized gold may have been smuggled into India through Myanmar and the UAE using hawala channels. The gold was allegedly intended to be introduced into the formal bullion trade through invoices generated by certain traders linked to a bullion refining company.

The agency also examined a claim of ownership over the seized gold, which was allegedly sought to be established through invoices presented as sale documents. However, the jurisdictional court reportedly found the invoices to be prima facie fabricated and rejected the claimant’s application seeking release of the gold.

The ED further said that neither Bansode nor the person claiming ownership could produce customs clearance certificates, import documents or other proof establishing the lawful acquisition of the gold.

Further investigation into the alleged smuggling network and money laundering trail is underway, the agency said.