KOCHI: The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs seized 22 gold biscuits concealed at the battery rack of a laptop of a passenger after a high drama at the Cochin international airport on Saturday.
The biscuits weighed 2.65 kilogram worth about Rs 85 lakhs.
The suspected passenger who was a Keralite landed at the airport from Dubai by an Indigo flight. The custom sleuths were monitoring the passenger when he landed at the airport as he was a frequent flyer to Middle East and Far East destinations despite having no business or job there. “Even though the laptop ws scanned, the gold could not be detected as it looked like battery through the scanner,” said sources.
However, he got tensed up after seeing the customs officials trailing him, and got into a public toilet in the international terminal where he stayed for at least 30 minutes.
However, officers waited for him outside and once he came out, they took custody of the baggage he was holding. He denied possessing any contraband to the officers.
“The officers noticed that the laptop was heavier than normal. Following that, it laptop was disassembled and found the gold bars inside,” said customs commissioner Sumit Kumar.
Mr. Kumar said a manhunt has begun by the Customs department to track down the contact person who was supposed to take delivery of the consignment from the carrier.
According to officials, the informers will be given cash award if the information leads to detection of cases.
