CHENNAI: Officers of the Customs Department at the Anna International Airport seized gold worth `14 lakh and foreign currency worth `5 lakh.
The currency smuggling was detected on Thursday, while gold smuggling was found on Friday, said Commissioner of Customs, Anna International Airport.
Abdur Rahim (39), a resident of Chennai, who was bound for Hong Kong, was intercepted on Thursday morning after he cleared the immigration. On search, it was found that he was in possession of 7,500 USD, which is equivalent to about `5 lakh. He had hidden the cash in the pant pocket.
Mohd. Shadab (24), a resident of Muzaffarnagar, arrived from Riyadh on Friday morning and was intercepted at the exit of the arrival hall on suspicion. It was then found that he was carrying a gas stove. On further examination, it was noticed that the burners of the gas stove were normal but the legs were unusually heavy.
On cutting open the four legs of the stove, four gold ingots were recovered, weighing 463 grams and valued at `14 lakh. The gold was certified as 24 carat purity by a government-approved gold assayer.