In major bust, 8.5kg gold worth Rs 4.25 crore seized at Tiruchy airport
TIRUCHY: In a major bust by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence at the Tiruchy International Airport, eight passengers, including a woman, were arrested allegedly for attempting to smuggle 8.5kg of gold worth over Rs 4.25 crore on Friday.
Following a tip-off, the Tiruchy International Airport was put on alert on Friday, with a special team of DRI officials from Coimbatore coming down to help their Tiruchy counterparts. The officials intercepted eight passengers who arrived on two successive flights from Dubai to Tiruchy.
"A total of eight passengers, two from an Indigo flight and six from Air India Express flight, were stopped. On searching, we found gold paste concealed in their clothing. One had stitched the gold paste inside the fabric of their jeans. A total of 9.954kg in the form of paste was seized from the accused," said a police official.
Customs officials refined the compound and estimated the gold to weigh over 8.5kg and valued it at over Rs 4.25 crore. Sources said this haul was the second-highest seizure involving the yellow metal at the Tiruchy airport. The highest, weighing over 11kg worth Rs 11 crore, was seized from 130 passengers in November 2019.