Customs officials seizes Rs 31.5 lakh smuggled gold in Chennai airport

Chennai: Customs officials at Chennai international airport seized 1 kg of smuggled gold worth Rs 31.5 lakh, on Thursday. According to airport sources, the officials stopped Krishna (29) of Andhra Pradesh who arrived at Chennai airport from Riyadh on Gulf Airlines in the wee hours of Thursday. 

“On suspicion, the officials stopped him and searched his baggage. During the search, they found two gold pieces weighing 810 grams inside a hidden column in the tape recorder that he brought,” the sources said.

The officials seized the gold pieces worth Rs 25 lakh and arrested him. Krishna was sent to judicial remand. Similarly, officials searched a passenger named Peter (52), who had arrived at Chennai Airport from Caria by another Gulf Airlines flight. The officials seized 210 grams of gold valued at Rs 6.5 lakh.

“He had coated the golden beads into silver and stitched them in his suit. His suit was seized and he was taken into custody” the officials said.

In another incident, the customs officials stopped Jaffar Ali (34) of Chennai when he was trying to board a Colombo-bound Spice Jet flight. Officials searched him and found US Dollars worth Rs 5 lakh concealed in his rectum.