CHENNAI: Customs officials foiled a bid to smuggle gold and digital SLR cameras worth Rs 9.35 lakh by a man who flew into the city from Dubai on Saturday morning. Syed Ismail, 27, who disembarked from FlyDubai Airlines, was intercepted at the exit of the arrival hall on suspicion. A body-search yielded a gold cut bit weighing 50 grams and 317 grams of rubbery spread.
The gold assayer recovered 167 grams of gold ingot after extraction from the spread. A total of 217 grams of gold of 24-carat worth Rs 7.2 lakh was recovered. On scanning his checked-in baggage, four Cannon brand DSLR cameras EOS 80D (w) with zoom lens EF S 18-135mm worth Rs 2.20 lakh were recovered.
In a separate case, customs officials seized one kg gold worth Rs 35.4 lakh from two female passengers hailing from Madurai on Thursday. The two – Parameshwari (45) and Fathima Beevi (40), who arrived from Kuala Lumpur by a Batik Airlines flight, were found carrying the gold in three emergency lights in their checked-in luggage.Each light had two thin rectangular gold plates. The six gold plates each weighing 551 grams worth Rs 18.1 lakh and 527 gram worth Rs 17.3 lakh were recovered. Further probe is on.