BHUBANESWAR: Air Customs officials intercepted a passenger and seized 1,310.650 gram gold at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here on Wednesday night.
The passenger, a Kerala native who arrived from Kuala Lumpur by AirAsia flight, was intercepted at the airport for smuggling gold.
Acting on a tip-off, the officials intercepted the man at 9.45 pm and recovered the gold, having 99.9 per cent purity, from him. The market value of the seized gold has been estimated at Rs 52.02 lakh.
“Further investigation into the matter is in progress,” an official of Air Customs said.
Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), Bhubaneswar, Debashish Sahu appreciated the efforts of the officials and said the department is on high alert to thwart any incident of smuggling through BPIA.
Customs officials had seized 13.77 kg gold worth Rs 4.46 crore at BPIA during 2018-19 fiscal.
According to the office of Chief Commissioner, GST/Central tax, Central Excise and Customs, Bhubaneswar Zone, seven persons were also arrested for smuggling gold during the same period.
“If a person is found to be carrying gold illegally amounting to Rs 20 lakh or more than that, he/she can be arrested,” an official said.