Thiruvananthapuram: In major haul for officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence,
gold worth more than Rs 97 lakh was seized from a passenger who arrived at the
Trivandrum International Airport on Saturday evening. The passenger, identified as Mangaluru native Abdul Azees Palayat (48), arrived in Indigo flight 6E38 from Dubai.
Based on intelligence inputs, DRI officers intercepted the passenger on his arrival at the airport.
The gold, weighing 3.14kg and worth Rs 97.8 lakh, was found concealed in the motor of a pasta-making machine in the luggage. It was in the form of 55 small gold plates coated with mercury.
“The mercury coating gave it a silver colour. The 55 gold plates were made in different sizes to fit into the motor of the machine. The passenger is a carrier, who worked in a hotel in Dubai,” said a DRI officer.
“This is a rare case. Usually carriers arriving at the
airport carry much smaller quantities of gold. Since the gold is worth less than Rs 1 crore, the person was released on bail,” added the officer.
DRI has registered a case in this regard and a probe has been launched.
