Gold bars worth Rs 3 crore seized, three arrested in Chennai

CHENNAI: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence arrested three persons for allegedly smuggling 10.45 kg of gold worth Rs 3 crore here on Saturday. The trio had concealed the contraband inside the spare parts of air-conditioner units and brought it from Bengaluru to Chennai.

According to a press release, officers were monitoring the movements of some persons at  Nungambakkam who were loading packets into a vehicle. On questioning, they are said to have stated that they had smuggled gold concealed in compressors. Investigation revealed that the gold had been brought from Malaysia to Bengaluru and from there to Chennai via courier vans.

The smugglers had brought about 10.459 kg of gold bars worth Rs three crore, wrapped in aluminium foil and covered them with black graphite paste.

Three persons, including the one to whom the contraband was to be delivered, were arrested, release said.
Rs 18 lakh worth gold seized in Tiruchy airport

The Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs, on Saturday, seized gold worth Rs 18 lakh from an inbound passenger from Dubai who arrived at Tiruchirapalli International Airport by an Air India flight at midnight.

The passenger was identified as Ibrahim Shah (50), a resident of Chennai. According to Customs officials, Shah was carrying about 635 gm of gold. The yellow metal in the form of gold foil was kept hidden at the bottom of his trolley bag.

Reliable sources, informed Express that the gold smuggling racket usually sends the photograph of the (person carrying the gold) carrier through WhatsApp to the person waiting at the airport.