Police arrested three persons after gold bars worth around Rs 4 crore were seized from their possession in North Dinajpur on Tuesday night.

Police sources said the trio was heading towards Malda from Siliguri in an auto. Among those arrested, two are from Maharashtra while the third hails from Bhaktinagar of Jalpaiguri district.

“Our men were checking vehicles on the highway and intercepted an auto rickshaw. There was no registration plate on the auto. Three persons were travelling in the vehicle. All of them were frisked and the auto was also checked. The policemen then seized gold bars worth around Rs 4 crore. We need to interrogate them further to know whether they are carriers or are associated with a gold smuggling racket,” said Sachin Makkar, the superintendent of police, Islampur district.

According to Makkar, 50 gold bars, each weighing 166 grams (8.3 kg in total), have been seized from the trio.

Those arrested have been identified as Haridas Thanabode and Atul Ramesh Babar, both residents of Maharashtra, and Rezaul Ali of Bhaktinagar in Jalpaiguri.

The police sources said as the auto was stopped on the highway, Ali told them that he was going to Malda from Siliguri to deliver the vehicle.

“As we asked the other two passengers, they said they have taken the auto on hire and are also going to Malda. This further raised our

suspicion as it is rare to travel such a long distance in an auto, when buses and trains are available between Siliguri and Malda,” said a police officer.

On Wednesday, Thanabode, Babar and Ali were produced at the local court in Islampur. The trio had been sent to police custody for 10 days, said the sources.