BENGALURU : Two flyers, including a woman passenger, from Dubai were caught during the weekend in two separate incidents at the Kempegowda International Airport, when they attempted to smuggle in over 1.63 kg of gold valued at over Rs 76.75 lakh. The seizures were made by the Air Intelligence unit of Airport Customs.
On Saturday, the woman passenger arriving on an Emirates flight (EK-564) had brought with her over 1.3 kg of gold. She had concealed the haul in paste form in plastic packets, inside her undergarments and within the pair of socks that she was wearing, said a Customs official. The flight arrived at 8:50 am, and the 38-year-old Mumbai-based individual was caught due to regular profiling and frisking, he said.
"After removal of the plastic sheets, 1,333 grams of gold valued at Rs 62,57,102 was recovered," the official said. A car waiting for her outside the airport also seized under Section 115. "The driver/owner who had come to pick her up and transport the gold was also arrested, but later released on bail," he added.
In the other incident which took place in the wee hours of Sunday, a male passenger who had concealed gold inside his mouth was nabbed. The 50-year-old Chennai native had arrived by an Indigo flight (6E 096) at 12.10 am. The quantity of the seized gold was 305 grams, valued at Rs 14,18, 815.