2.32 kg gold worth Rs. 1.14 crore seized by Chennai air customs; one arrested

Chennai: Air Customs has busted a new method in which the smugglers conceals the gold in the aircraft on international run coming from Dubai and by using domestic passenger who travels to a domestic city such as Guwahati by other means and board the same flight running on the domestic leg from Guwahati to Chennai to retrieve the gold.

Based on an intelligence that gold was likely to be smuggled from Dubai by concealing in aircraft, Indigo flight 6E-66 was taken up for special rummaging. On searching, five rectangular heavy pieces wrapped with black adhesive tape and tied with a thread along with a metal piece were found in the hollow pipe portion in one of the seats. On cutting it open, 10 gold bars with foreign markings each totally weighing 1.16kg and valued at Rs. 57.1 lakhs were recovered.

This aircraft then operated on its domestic leg to Guwahati as Flight 6E627 and returned back to Chennai as Flight 6E623. One Mohabath Khan, 56, of Kancheepuram who traveled from Guwahati to Chennai on the same seat from which the gold was recovered earlier, was intercepted. On personal search 5 rectangular heavy pieces wrapped with black adhesive tape and tied with a thread along with a metal piece were found concealed in a cloth pouch tied along his waist concealed under his shirt.

On cut opening, 10 gold bars of 10 tolas each with foreign markings totally weighing 1.16 kg and valued at Rs. 57.1 lakhs were recovered. While questioning the suspect informed that he had travelled from Chennai to Guwahati by a SpiceJet flight on the same day and he returned to Chennai by the same Indigo Flight. He further added that he was supposed to retrieve gold items from two seats from this aircraft, however he found gold from one seat only. He admitted his involvement in both the cases and was arrested.