Customs officials on Thursday seized gold paste worth Rs 78 lakh at Pune International Airport in Maharashtra, PTI reported. The defendants hid the precious metal in a tube under the seat of an airplane, authorities said.
According to the profile, the passenger who arrived from Dubai on Wednesday was intercepted, but nothing objectionable was found in his personal search or in the examination of his luggage, they said.
“As the passenger’s behavior was very suspicious, they asked him if he had hidden anything on the plane. As his answers increased suspicions even more, his seat and some other places on the plane were searched. During the search, a package of Se found gold paste hidden in a tube under the seat where he was sitting,” said a Customs official.
The 24-carat gold weighed 1,088.3 grams and is valued at Rs 78 lakh, the official said.
13.56 crore smuggled gold seized at Mumbai International Airport; 11 passengers arrested
The Customs department seized 22.14 kg of gold valued at Rs 13.56 crore brought illegally by several passengers at the Mumbai International Airport, officials said on Monday, news agency PTI reported.
The precious metal was found hidden by the passengers in their rectum, underwear, body and a sheet of cardboard, an official said.
In one case, gold jewelery was hidden under the burkha worn by a passenger at the Mumbai International Airport and in another case, precious metal bars were hidden in the underwear, an official said, PTI reported.
Gold was also smuggled in the form of bracelet and buckle which passengers wore as a belt, while gold dust in the form of wax was hidden in the rectum of a passenger, he said, PTI reported.
In another incident, last week, the Mumbai Airport Customs Department seized 11.62 kg of gold and iPhones valued at Rs 7.44 crore and Rs 12 lakh cash in separate cases at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport or CSMIA, an official said, reported the news. PTI agency.
The measure was taken in 18 cases of contraband seizure. The official also informed PTI that seven people were arrested and taken into police custody. Further investigations are underway, the official added.