KOCHI:  Customs Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) at Cochin International Airport thwarted six gold smuggling attempts which included an arrest of a Sri Lankan national on Monday. According to Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar, more than 5 kg of gold was recovered by the officers on Monday alone.

In the morning, 11 gold bars weighing nearly 2 kg and an 18 g gold chain were recovered from a flight that arrived from Riyadh. The gold was concealed inside the water heater. Another passenger who arrived from Dubai was intercepted with two gold chain and two gold bars. The gold was concealed inside a hidden pocket. The Sri Lankan national who arrived from Colombo was intercepted with 1.8kg of gold. “We suspect him to be a carrier for a racket that is operational in Kerala,” Sumit Kumar said. 

Around 300g of gold was found hidden in the toilet of a flight that arrived from Dubai. A Malappuram native was intercepted with 350g gold in a secret waist pouch. Similarly, a gold chain weighing 52.45g was seized from a Guruvayur native. “We had six more gold seizures from airports in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. The direction has been given to Customs formation in airports and marine units to increase surveillance.