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Customs officials recover gold worth Rs 63.55 lakhs at Chennai airport

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In two separate incidents, 1.65 kilograms of gold worth Rs 63.55 lakh was recovered from five passengers by customs officials at Chennai’s Anna International Airport on Tuesday.

According to the Times of India, Tamir, 32 who arrived in Air Arabia from Riyadh was found to be carrying three gold bars each weighing 100 grams, concealed inside a heavy LED lantern. The gold was valued at Rs 11.8 lakh and had “SUISSE 100 gms FINE GOLD 999.9” marking on them. The unusually heavy LED lantern was found in his checked-in baggage and the 300 grams of gold bars were hidden inside the battery of the lamp. Tamir hails from Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

The officials on Monday also intercepted four individuals — 22-year-old Vellai Naina Mohamed and 25-year-old Rahmath Ali ( both from Ramanathapuram), 37-year-old Shaik Mohammed from Tiruvallur and 32-year-old Sivachandran from Salem —  on suspicion of carrying gold, arriving from Dubai in Oman Air Flight.

The men, upon persistent questioning, admitted to having concealed gold in their rectum. 1.35 kg gold, valued at Rs 53.5 lakh, was recovered from them by the officials.

Earlier this August, diamonds worth Rs 2.25 crore were seized at the international airport in Chennai. Customs officials seized 2,996 carat of diamonds from a passenger who had arrived from Kuala Lumpur by Batik Airline.

In June this year, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence seized gold worth nearly Rs 8 crore on Saturday at the Chennai airport.  Reportedly part of a smuggling ring, the officials found 23 kg of foreign marked gold bars with the men. Five men, including a customs officer posted at the airport, were arrested by the Directorate. 

Source: The News Minute