KOCHI: Nearly four kg of gold worth about Rs one crore and kept concealed was seized today by customs personnel from two passengers who arrived at the international airport here from Muscat and Jeddah, an official said.
In the first incident, the officials seized 3.19 kg of gold worth Rs 84 lakh from Al Ameen, who arrived from Muscat, Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar said.
The gold kept concealed in the form of wires inside a battery charger was seized following a detailed screening of his baggage on suspicion, he told PTI.
The passenger, detained for questioning, was suspected to be a carrier of illegal gold from the Middle East countries, he said.
In the other seizure, the customs intelligence team recovered 15 gold pieces, totally weighing 659 grams, concealed in an air pump from the passenger who arrived from Jeddah. The gold was valued at Rs 17.3 lakh, the official said.
Besides, in separate cases yesterday, the customs sleuths seized about one kg of gold worth over Rs 26 lakh and kept concealed from the baggages of two passengers who landed from Kuala Lumpur and Kuwait.
Due to rise in smuggling activities, Customs officials were maintaining a tight vigil at the airport and subjecting suspicious passengers to stringent checks, Kumar said.