Based on a specific tip-off, the passengers who arrived on a Saudi Airlines flight from Jeddah after performing Umrah, were pulled aside for searching.The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in coordination with Hyderabad Police’s South Zone Task Force Tuesday night intercepted 14 passengers coming after Umrah at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport exit gate and seized 6.46 kgs of gold worth Rs 2.17 crore from their possession.
Based on a specific tip-off, the passengers who arrived on a Saudi Airlines flight from Jeddah after performing Umrah, were pulled aside for searching. “Each of them was found to be carrying Foreign Marked Gold in the form of cut pieces, 24-carat bracelets and chains. The 14 passengers are residents of Hyderabad. The gold was smuggled into the country by concealing on the person. They did not have any documents to prove the licit import of the said gold. The total weight of the foreign gold recovered and seized under Customs Act, 1962, is 6.46 kg worth around 2.17 crore,’’ a DRI official said.
The passengers are suspected to be part of a network who are recruited by agents to smuggle gold into the country. “The modus operandi is that some agents pay for the trip of the poor people who want to go to Umrah with the condition that while returning, the passengers bring gold which is handed over to them at Jeddah by other agents. If they come out of the airport without getting caught, local agents collect the gold from them. They are blackmailed by agents at Jeddah with consequences of penalty or recovery of the full charge of Umrah if they do not act as per instructions of agents,’’ the official said.
