KOCHI: In a major haul, the air intelligence unit and customs team seized 5.064kg of gold from seven passengers, including a woman, at the Kochi airport. Acting on a tip-off, the sleuths picked up the passengers who arrived in the Bahrain, Sharjah, and Dubai flights in the early hours of Sunday. The gold compound was concealed inside the rectum of the passengers in capsule-shaped packets. According to sources, the seized gold is worth about Rs 2 crore.
Passengers from Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka were taken into custody. A total of 1.032kg gold compound was seized from Anas Jihad while 778gm of gold compound was recovered from Noufal P Parampath. Officials seized 501gm of gold from Mohammed Irfan Ali and 543gm from Ashar Mohammed Amar. Sibi Saji, Musbah Mohammed Ishaq, and Anjum Sufian, who came from Dubai, carried 1.071kg, 597gm and 542gm of gold, respectively.