Sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have arrested a youth from Kerala at the Coimbatore International Airport for smuggling 3.67 kg of gold. The gold bars, 24 of them, were stuffed into the cavity of a steel roller along with fine Arabian sand.
The seized gold is valued at ₹1.15 crore. The passenger, M. Amalraj (25) of Ernakulam, had arrived at Coimbatore airport on Sunday morning from Sharjah on an Air Arabia flight. He was intercepted by DRI sleuths at the airport, based on specific information. DRI officials found that the passenger was carrying a mild steel roller weighing 13.6 kg in his checked-in luggage. Though the steel roller of 100 mm diameter appeared to be a solid single piece of metal, it weighed oddly, raising suspicion among the officials. They took it to a lathe for further examination.
According to the officials, sand oozed from the roller when a hole was drilled into it. The roller was cut open and the gold bars taken out.
DRI sources said the youth was acting as a carrier and had travelled abroad four times in the recent past. One trip was through Coimbatore airport. He was arrested and remanded in judicial custody for 15 days.