9.8kg gold smuggled in joysticks, racket busted
TNN | Updated: Jan 21, 2019, 08:48 IST
The gold ingots found inside joysticksCHENNAI: Customs officials at Chennai airport on Sunday seized 9.8kg gold worth Rs 3.3 crore which was concealed in gaming joysticks. This is the first time such a modus operandi has been uncovered, sources said. Three men have been arrested.
Officials had intelligence reports that gold was likely to be smuggled by Chennai-based passengers arriving by an Air India flight from Sharjah and an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur. Sources said on Sunday morning, customs officers noticed that three male passengers walking in a suspicious manner and hurrying towards the exit.
They were intercepted at the exit of the arrival hall and questioned by Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) officers of customs. “They were asked if they were carrying gold or any other valuables which needed to be declared,” said a source. “They were evasive, so we took them and their baggage for a detailed examination.”
Customs officials found 47 pieces of joysticks of Sony Playstation in the baggage of passenger Kamar Ali, 38, who had arrived from Kuala Lumpur by AirAsia flight AK 11PS4. The officers found the joysticks unusually heavy, and on close examination, found them to be tampered with.
The officers checked the baggage of the other two passengers — Riyas Khan, 32, and Ibrahim Shah, 52, who had arrived from Sharjah by Air India Flight 968 which had landed half an hour after the AirAsia flight and found they too had joysticks. “One of them was carrying 30 joysticks, the other had 61. We broke open one of the joysticks and found that one of the two portions of the piece were replaced with circular gold ingots,” said a customs officer. All 147 joysticks were soon broken and out came two gold ingots from each, totalling 294 ingots. Officials frisked each passenger and found two gold bits weighing 120g in their trouser pockets.
Officers recovered 24 karat purity gold weighing 3.14kg from Kamar Ali, 2.6kg from Rias Khan and 4kg from Ibrahim Shah. The pieces of gold were seized under provisions of Customs Act, 1962.
Officials had intelligence reports that gold was likely to be smuggled by Chennai-based passengers arriving by an Air India flight from Sharjah and an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur. Sources said on Sunday morning, customs officers noticed that three male passengers walking in a suspicious manner and hurrying towards the exit.
They were intercepted at the exit of the arrival hall and questioned by Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) officers of customs. “They were asked if they were carrying gold or any other valuables which needed to be declared,” said a source. “They were evasive, so we took them and their baggage for a detailed examination.”
Customs officials found 47 pieces of joysticks of Sony Playstation in the baggage of passenger Kamar Ali, 38, who had arrived from Kuala Lumpur by AirAsia flight AK 11PS4. The officers found the joysticks unusually heavy, and on close examination, found them to be tampered with.
The officers checked the baggage of the other two passengers — Riyas Khan, 32, and Ibrahim Shah, 52, who had arrived from Sharjah by Air India Flight 968 which had landed half an hour after the AirAsia flight and found they too had joysticks. “One of them was carrying 30 joysticks, the other had 61. We broke open one of the joysticks and found that one of the two portions of the piece were replaced with circular gold ingots,” said a customs officer. All 147 joysticks were soon broken and out came two gold ingots from each, totalling 294 ingots. Officials frisked each passenger and found two gold bits weighing 120g in their trouser pockets.
Officers recovered 24 karat purity gold weighing 3.14kg from Kamar Ali, 2.6kg from Rias Khan and 4kg from Ibrahim Shah. The pieces of gold were seized under provisions of Customs Act, 1962.
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