KOCHI: Customs officials at the Kochi airport on Tuesday apprehended three individuals for attempted gold smuggling. The accused are Tamil Nadu natives Syed, Nawas and Jainulabdheen, who arrived at the airport from Sharjah on an Air Arabia flight. Apart from gold ornaments, officials also seized electronic devices, including iPhones, laptops, and drone cameras, with a total value of around Rs 1.27 crore, from the accused persons.
“The trio attempted to smuggle in the gold ornaments by hiding them in their pant pockets. In addition to the gold, we also seized 84 mobile phones, 30 laptops and 4 drone cameras from them,” said a Customs officer.
From one passenger, the Customs recovered two gold chains, weighing 149.9g and valued at Rs 11.01 lakh, along with two DJI Mini 4 Pro drones, 12 iPhone 15 Pro Max, 11 iPhone 13 Pro, two Apple Watch Ultra 2, and 12 Dell Latitude laptops, with a total worth of Rs 35.96 lakh. From the second passenger, the Customs seized a gold chain, weighing 105.43g and worth Rs 7.74lakh, along with a DJI Mini 4 Pro drone, 15 iPhone 12 Pro, 12 iPhone 15 Pro, four iPhone 15 Pro Max, five Google Pixel 8, three Google Pixel 7 Pro, and nine Dell Latitude laptops, with a total value of Rs 34.46 lakh.
And the third passenger was found smuggling in a gold chain, weighing 100.88g and valued at Rs 7.40 lakh, along with two DJI Mini 4 Pro drones, 10 iPhone 13 Pro, six iPhone 15 Pro Max, six iPhone 15 Pro, two Apple Watch Ultra 2, and nine Dell Latitude laptops, with a total worth of Rs 30.10 lakh. Further investigation into the incident is underway, the officer added.