CHENNAI: The Chennai Customs on Monday said they seized gold worth at least Rs 3.6 crore from passengers who tried to smuggle it from Malaysia, and arrested six passengers in two cases.
In the first case, early on Sunday, the customs apprehended a woman who arrived from Kuala Lumpur. When examined, she was found to have 2.4 kg of gold in five cut bars of 24K purity concealed on her person.
The interrogation of the passenger revealed a modus operandi whereby four other regular travellers had asked the woman to smuggle the gold on their behalf. The other four passengers – including two women – who were on the same flight, were also apprehended. They admitted the gold belonged to all the five passengers.
Similarly, on October 31 midnight, one Indian male passenger from Kuala Lumpur with 768 gm gold paste concealed in his socks was arrested. In a third case, a Malaysian man was apprehended with 61 gm of gold worth Rs 6.95 lakh.