Three kg of gold was seized by customs officials from a passenger at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad on Tuesday evening.
A senior Customs officer told reporters, “The officers of Air Intelligence Unit intercepted a passenger, who arrived from Dubai by Emirates Airlines Flight EK-528 last evening.”
The total value of gold bars seized is reported to be around Rs 75 lakhs.
The custom officer added, “The passenger was carrying a hand bag and opted to pass through the Green Channel by not declaring any dutiable goods. On questioning by the officers about possession of any dutiable/prohibited goods, he denied and replied in negative.”
The passenger broke down in front of police and confessed his crimes on further interrogation. He is in police custody right now. However, the police department has refused from revealing his identity to media right now.
The police said, “Because of the nervous behaviour and suspicious nature of the passenger, the officers conducted a detailed personal search during which they recovered gold bars weighing 3 kgs concealed in the shoes worn by him.”
Further investigation is going on about his network and other smugglers involved in this racket.
This is, however, not the first time a smuggler has been arrested. A similar case was reported in Ahmedabad in March this year where the Air Intelligence Unit had recovered 3 kg gold worth Rs. 80.32 lakh, which was hidden beneath a seat in a SpiceJet flight.