BENGALURU: The Air Intelligence Unit of Airport Customs has seized over 420 grams of gold valued at nearly Rs 20 lakh in two separate incidents from flyers coming to Bengaluru from Sharjah.The gold was concealed in trousers, boxes meant to contain undergarments and in their check-in baggage.
Both incidents involved passengers who reached Kempegowda International Airport via an Air Arabia flight on Wednesday (October 6) around 4 am. “A total of 421.45 grams of gold in the form of powder, bangles and biscuit, valued at Rs 19, 57,393 were seized,” said a Customs official.
A 47-year-old native of Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh had concealed gold biscuits weighing 116.48 grams and 3 bangles weighing 126.88 grams of gold inside a plastic cover inside his check-in bag and in the pockets of his trousers. “Frisking the passenger and scanning of his baggage helped us detect them,” the official said.
The other incident involved a 52-year old native of Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu.“The passenger tried to smuggle gold powder by concealing it between the paper foils kept inside layers of boxes meant for undergarments and in carton boxes in his check-in baggage,” the source said. Scanning of baggage helped in detecting them. The total weight of gold carried by him was 178.09 grams and it is worth Rs 8,44,885, he said.