Delhi: Two held for bid to smuggle gold, star tortoises

Chennai: An air passenger who arrived from Sharjah here on Saturday was arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle Rs 40 lakh worth gold.

Mohammed Saleem was found carrying 1.2 kg of the precious metal in his suitcase by the Air Intelligence Unit of Customs, airport officials said.

He had arrived by a private flight in the wee hours of today, they added.

In a separate incident, as many as 50 live star tortoises were found in the possession of a Malaysia-bound passenger.

They said Zaheer Hussain was arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle the tortoises by hiding them in a suitcase.

The star tortoises were handed over to the Forest Department, they added.