One kilogram of gold valued at Rs 30 lakh was seized from the Nedumbassery airport early on Wednesday. The passenger who was carrying the gold, in the form of two bars packed inside the sole of his sandal, has been identified as Abdul Kareem, 25, of Vythiri, Wayanad.
He arrived ar Cial on a flight from Dubai. According to the Customs Air Intelligence Unit at CIAL, Abdul Kareem was detected to be carrying the gold soon after immigration check. Based on what Kareem said, he was involved in the real estate business and he travelled to Dubai to collect money due to him from a client.
Customs Deputy Commissioner S A S Navaz said the Customs Air Intelligence Unit had upped security at the airport following the recent spate of gold smuggling. Kareem has been retained for questioning and will be presented before the Economic Offences Court.
A team of officers under the Deputy Commissioner, including Assistant Commissioner Sanjay Kumar, and Superintendents Koshy Alex, N G Jaison, K K Somasundaram, Ajit Jose, Moloy Das, Ajay Kumar and Satpal Meena carried out the arrest.