BENGALURU: Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) officials have foiled three gold and one cigarette smuggling attempts in the last three days, seizing gold worth around `1 crore. Interestingly, in one case, gold worth `60 lakh was found abandoned on a flight.On Tuesday, Customs officials arrested two people trying to smuggle gold into the country. In one case, the passenger, identified as Kannad Kathasleem Arif (21), arrived from Dubai by an Emirates flight (EK568) on Tuesday.
Customs officials detained the passenger after profiling and on interrogation got contradictory versions from him. On suspicion, his baggage was subjected to detailed examination which revealed concealment of gold. The passenger adopted a very unique modus to conceal the gold of 895 gm valued at `28.43 lakh. The gold was concealed in form of foils in corrugated boxes which in turn was used for packing toys.
In another case on Tuesday, Mohammed Talib Ahmed, flying by another Emirates flight (EK564) from Dubai to Bengaluru, was intercepted by Customs officials. On thorough interrogation and check, he was found to be concealing 233.24 gm of gold valued at `7,41,000 in his rectum. He was also carrying commercial quantity of cosmetics worth `60,000.
On Monday, Allah Baksh, travelling by a Malaysia Airlines flight (MH192) from Kuala Lumpur to Bengaluru, was caught carrying 135 boxes of cigarettes worth `4 lakh in his bag. On Sunday, gold worth `60 lakh weighing 1,900 gm was found abandoned in a Singapore-Bengaluru flight. The gold was in the form of two biscuits wrapped in black insulating tapes and kept inside a bag. "It appears the passenger (the smuggler) got scared of getting caught and abandoned the bag in the aircraft before alighting and leaving the airport," a Customs official said.