2 men held for smuggling gold worth Rs 32 lakh into Hyderabad city

Hyderabad: Two air passengers were caught and 1 kg gold was seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport late on Wednesday. 

The passengers were carrying the silver-coated gold bars in a SpiceJet international aircraft.

The DRI sleuths were tipped about two passengers travelling in a SpiceJet flight (SG 464) from Guwahati to Hyderabad. They then intercepted the passengers when they arrived at Hyderabad and frisked them.

During checks, two silver bars were found in the possession of the passengers, who hailed from Chennai. On examination, it was found that the gold bars were coated with silver in order to evade suspicion and smuggle them into the city.

“Inquiries revealed that the passengers retrieved the smuggled gold which was concealed inside the aircraft. They boarded the flight at Guwahati. The passengers admitted that the gold was smuggled into the country and they did not have documents to prove either the purchase or import of the gold,” said a senior official from DRI.

The official said that the seized gold bars weighed about 1 kg, and are valued at Rs 31.68 lakh. 

The gold has been seized under the Customs Act and the accused were apprehended. Further investigations are under way to identify the people who were meant to receive the gold bars, said the official.