CHENNAI: Customs officials seized 1.64 kg of gold worth `2.37 crore from two cleaning staff members who allegedly concealed the contraband inside their shoes at Chennai airport, officials said on Tuesday.
Acting on specific intelligence, officers of the Air Intelligence Unit intercepted the two members deployed to clean an aircraft that had arrived from Dubai on August 30 and seized packets from each of their shoes.
Wrapped in black adhesive tape, the packets contained a yellow-coloured paste. Officials melted and processed the substance, recovering 1,640 grams of gold in ingot form. The gold was certified as 24-karat pure by a government-approved gold assayer.
Sources said the incident appears to be part of a planned operation. An unidentified person had allegedly provided information to the cleaners in advance, acting on which the duo collected the parcel while cleaning the aircraft. Customs seized the contraband, and both suspects were arrested under the Customs Act, 1962.