MALAPPURAM: In a major haul by customs, 4.284kg of gold in compound form was seized from three passengers at Karipur airport. While customs officials seized 2.144kg of gold in compound from two passengers inside the airport terminal, Karipur police seized 2.14kg of gold in compound from a passenger outside the terminal.
Officials at the police aid post at the airport quizzed Junaid K K, 28, of Kozhikode, who came out after completing the customs inspection. He arrived at the airport from Abu Dhabi on Monday. While frisking him, police recovered a packet containing gold in compound form, which was concealed under the support bands worn around thighs. Another packet was recovered from a specially stitched secret pocket in his innerwear.
District Police Chief Sujith Das said that a total of 36.75kg of gold has been seized from Kozhikode airport by Karipur police in 40 different cases in the past four months. Police recovering gold in compound form, which was concealed under the dress of a carrier should be considered a serious lapse on the part of customs. Usually, customs officials fail to recover the gold concealed in the body cavities of carriers. The Air Intelligence Unit of Customs seized 1.132kg of gold in compound from a passenger, Mohamed Anees, 26, of Kozhikode. He arrived from Muscat on Monday. The gold was concealed inside his body. The approximate value of the gold seized is `49.20 lakh.
In another case, a total of 1012.4g of gold in compound form was seized from Kabeer, 34, of Kozhikode, who arrived on Sunday. The officials recovered 1012.40g of gold compound which was concealed inside his body. The total value of the gold seized from Kabeer is `44.50 lakh.