KOCHI : Another innovative method of smuggling gold was busted by customs after a passenger was caught with gold concealed as coils inside LED bulbs and LED lamps at Kochi airport on Thursday. Customs arrested Afsal of Perambra, Kozhikode, who tried a new method of smuggling by replacing copper coils with gold coils in LED lights.
It was on Thursday night, that Afsal arrived on a flight from Kuwait. On scanning the checked-in baggage, customs officials found LED bulbs and lamps inside it. As these lights are easily available, the officials found it unusual for Afsal to bring them from abroad. “We questioned the passenger regarding the purpose of bringing in LED lights from abroad. He said the lights are highly energy-efficient and available at a cheap price in Kuwait. However, our officers were not convinced. So, we decided to scan the bulbs. We found the presence of gold inside the LED lights,” an officer said.
The officials then decided to open eight LED bulbs and four LED lamps found in the checked-in baggage. “The copper coils used as power transmitters were replaced with thin gold coils. The seized gold coils were of 24 karat weighed 489.50g worth around Rs 25 lakh. When we body-checked the passenger, a 24-karat gold chain weighing 149.90g and two other 22-karat gold jewellery weighing 28.90g were found concealed inside the innerwear worn by him. The total seized gold is 677.200g worth Rs 38.17 lakh,” an officer said.
The passenger was arrested and interrogated for hours. It was revealed that he was hired by smugglers to bring gold to Kerala. He was later released on bail. Customs has launched a further probe into the incident.
Gold smuggled in face cream packet
Kochi: In another incident, the customs arrested a woman passenger who arrived from Rome for smuggling gold at Kochi airport. The woman passenger was intercepted at the green channel of the airport on Thursday night. On scanning her checked-in baggage, a suspicious image was found and a search was carried out.
A total of four crude gold rods in circular shape were found concealed in the packet of face cream. The seized gold weighed 640g worth I36.07 lakh. After recording her arrest, she was released on bail. Customs has launched a further probe into it