CHENNAI : Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) sleuths of the Customs department have foiled bids to smuggle gold worth Rs 31.26 lakh in different incidents at the Chennai International Airport and arrested one person in this regard.On Monday morning, the officials intercepted Mohammed Affan (40) from Karnataka, who had arrived from Dubai by Air India flight AI 906, on suspicion of carrying gold.
During a personal search, six bundles of rubbery spread wrapped with black adhesive tape were found concealed in his underwear. After extraction by heat treatment, 690 gm of gold worth Rs 22.61 lakh were recovered. Affan had gone to Dubai from Mumbai, but arrived in Chennai for the first time. Earlier, he had departed to Dubai from Mumbai and Hyderabad airports and also returned to these airports. The passenger was arrested.
In another incident on Saturday, AIU officers intercepted one Ahmad Anas (26) of Madurai, who had arrived from Colombo by Sri Lankan Airlines flight UL 127 on suspicion of carrying gold. During a search, 264 gm of gold worth Rs 8.65 lakh were recovered.In both cases, a total of 954 gm of gold worth Rs 31.26 were seized under the provisions of Customs Act, 1962.