TRICHY: A CBI team investigating the case of gold going missing from the vaults of the customs and excise office in Trichy has made a sensational discovery. A CBI source told TOI that during inspection the team found that at least 30kg of gold bars kept in three gunny bags were fake. Bars of some other metal are believed to have been stuffed into the bags along with gold bars.

Investigators believe that customs staff handling gold may have stolen the bars and replaced them with imitation gold. The team, which had been camping in Trichy, has left for Chennai to test the gold bars, the source said.

A senior official attached to the customs and central excise department said: “A CBI team of 16 members from Chennai, headed by DSP Kannan, was carrying out the probe when they discovered that some of the gold bars in three gunny bags were fake.” Several officials are believed to have been grilled by the CBI in connection with the case.

On April 19, customs officials discovered that 15kg gold was missing from the vaults in the Trichy office. An internal enquiry found that the gold had been stolen during transit from checkposts. On April 24, the case was handed over to the CBI and a team had been camping in Trichy to investigate the case and inspect the vaults.

Investigating officers have questioned customs staff who had access to the vaults. Among them were superintendent of customs Mohammed Farooq and inspector Senthil Kumar, who were suspended for “negligence” and for failing to prevent the theft following an internal enquiry on April 26.

While a preliminary search of three gunny bags revealed that 30 kg of gold bars had been stolen, officials suspect it could be much more. The customs vaults in Trichy receive on an average about 50kg gold every week. “Finding the quantum of gold that has been replaced with fake gold is a tedious job for which the CBI team has left for Chennai,” the source said. There has been a spate of gold seizures in the Trichy region of the customs that extends up to Tuticorin and Karaikal. Trichy airport reports incidents of gold smuggling almost on a daily basis.