Customs officials on Tuesday seized around 1.30 kg of gold worth ₹38.19 lakh from two passengers who arrived at Madurai airport from Singapore and Colombo.
Acting on specific intelligence about gold smuggling, a team of officials, led by Assistant Commissioner (Customs) V. Jaya Bharathi, checked the baggage of one Gowth Mohideen from Chennai, who arrived from Singapore by Air India Express.
“Our officials found that he had concealed gold biscuits weighing 1,184 grams in the coil portion of an old amplifier,” Joint Commissioner of Customs V. Pandiaraja said.
The officials also checked the baggage of another passenger, Ziauddin of Chennai, who arrived here from Colombo by Sri Lankan Airlines. The officials found that he had carried with him 108 grams of gold, concealed in a bread toaster.
Mr. Pandiaraja said only authorised persons were permitted to import pure gold into India on payment of required duty. These carriers helped smugglers by stealthily bringing the gold, thereby evading import duty.
“This is not the only loss to the government. The smuggled gold is used to make jewellery for which no account is maintained. The jewellery is also sold without levying any Goods and Service Tax,” he added.