The Income Tax (IT) Department on Tuesday seized as many as 27 sacks of coins of various denominations from two buses following raids in two different places here.
The coins of Rs 1 and 2 denominations were being transported to Bhubaneswar from Kolkata.
On a tipoff about the transportation of goods without e-way bills, the GST wing of the IT Department intercepted the two buses, one at Satsang Vihar and the other at the Baramunda Bus-Stand.
Surprisingly, the IT Department sleuths recovered 27 large bags filled with coins from both these buses and later seized the vehicles. The drivers and helpers of the buses were also detained by the officials for interrogation, sources said.
However, the helpers and drivers of the buses claimed ignorance and said that they were not aware for what the coins are transported. However, they charge Rs 150 for transporting a bag of coins.
Sources said that some traders use to collect the coins from the bus-stand and melt them for use for other purposes. The IT officials informed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to carry out further investigations.