Chennai: Custom seizes Rs 21 lakh smuggled gold, four arrested

Chennai: Customs officials at Chennai international airport detected four cases of smuggling of foreign currencies and gold worth Rs 21 lakh here on Wednesday.

According to airport sources, officials stopped Eshwaran (52), who arrived at Chennai airport from Kuala Lumpur, in the wee hours of Wednesday. “On suspicion, the officials stopped him and searched his baggage. During the search, they found two gold pieces weighing 350 grams inside a hidden column in a pouch he brought,” a source said.

The officials seized the gold pieces worth Rs 10.5 lakh and detained him.

Officials also searched a passenger named Hussian (42) who arrived from Colombo in Sri Lankan Airlines flight. The officials seized 150 grams of gold valued at Rs 4.6 lakh. 

“He had coated the golden buttons into silver one and stitched them in his suit. 

His suit was seized and he was taken into custody,” one official said.

In the third case, the officials searched a passenger named Bhisnu (36) who had arrived at Chennai international airport in Gulf Airlines flight on the wee hours of Wednesday. 

While initially they found nothing dubious, later the officials found two gold pieces weighing 200 grams in his inner garments.

In another incident, the customs officials stopped Hussian (32) when he was trying to board a Malaysia-bound Spice Jet flight on Wednesday morning. Officials searched him and found US Dollars worth Rs 5 lakh that was concealed in his rectum.

In all four cases the accused were detained and were seized of the smuggled gold and foreign currencies.