Airport official among two held for smuggling gold

CHENNAI: Customs officials at Chennai airport busted a gold smuggling racket on Tuesday when they caught a man, employed as a customer agent for Air India Air Travel Services Ltd. He was carrying smuggled gold bars and gold plates after receiving them from a passenger.
Based on inputs from the crime and intelligence wing of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), customs air intelligence officials intercepted the airline staff and the passenger. The passenger, who arrived from Dubai on an Oman Airline flight, has been identified as Rashid, 31, of Kasargod in Kerala. The airline staff has been identified as P Vijay Murugan, 28.

The officials searched Murugan and found him carrying 24 gold bars of ten tolas each and two gold plates. The gold bars and plates, weighing 3kg had a net worth of Rs 93 lakh.

The gold was being smuggled concealed in two black mobile flip covers. Murugan told the officials that the gold bars and plates had been given to him by Rashid and that he was supposed to hand them over to him when he checked out of the airport.

The duo was arrested and were booked under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962.