THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 1.2 kg of gold biscuits in the form of 10 bars from three passengers who landed at the airport on Wednesday morning. The passengers are Ibrahim Raja of Tamil Nadu, Mohammed Javid and Siraj of Kozhikode, DRI officers said.
They were detained and let off on bail after detailed interrogation. The officers said the contraband valued Rs 36 lakh was intercepted when the passengers landed at the airport by Air India Express flight ( IX 374) around 6 am. Of the 1.2 kg, 850 gm was concealed in the rectum of Javid, while Siraj carried the remaining bars. “It was a connection flight from Oman via Karipur. Javid and Siraj boarded the flight from Karipur and the contraband was exchanged with Ibrahim in the flight.
“Usually, domestic terminals don’t have inspections. This prompted the smugglers to choose the domestic airport gate. We received a tip-off and traced the passengers when they reached near the gate”, said a top DRI officer.