KOCHI: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Wednesday night seized one kilogram of smuggled gold worth around Rs 1.5 crore at the Cochin International Airport and arrested a passenger from Malaysia.
Sources said DRI sleuths conducted a surprise inspection based on specific intelligence after the passenger arrived on an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur at around 9.30 pm.
During the inspection, officials recovered one kilogram of gold that had allegedly been converted into paste form and concealed in an attempt to evade customs checks.
The arrested passenger was identified as Yousuf, a native of Palakkad. He is being interrogated to ascertain the source and intended destination of the contraband and to determine whether the seizure is linked to a larger gold smuggling network, sources said.