15 gold bars seized in City airport

BHUBANESWAR: A day after three gold bars and 143 gold rings were seized at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), the Customs officials on Wednesday night recovered 15 gold bars worth `34.9 lakh from two passengers at the airport.Acting on a tip-off, officers of Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs at the airport here intercepted two passengers, who had boarded an Air Asia flight from Bangkok to Bhubaneswar via Kuala Lumpur.

On a thorough search the officials found the gold bars wrapped in black adhesives and concealed in their rectums. “A search of the two persons led to seizure of gold bars weighing around 1143.78 grams,” a Customs official said. The two persons hail from Punjab.

Similarly, on Tuesday night, the Customs officials had intercepted two persons hailing from Thane in Maharashtra and had taken the same flight. On a search, the officers recovered three gold bars concealed in their rectums and 143 gold rings hidden inside the buttons of their T-shirts and jeans.“We recovered foreign origin gold bars and rings from the two persons which weigh around 378.37 grams and cost over `12 lakh,” a Customs official said.