HYDERABAD: Customs sleuths intercepted 11 passengers who arrived in a Vande Bharat mission flight from Saudi Arabia’s Dammam at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) on Thursday and recovered 3.11 kilos of gold from them.
According to customs officials, the value of the smuggled gold is Rs 1.66 crore.
Based on passenger profiling, the air intelligence unit sleuths of the customs department intercepted the 11 passengers. When subjected to scanning and frisking, the sleuths found gold biscuits concealed in secret pockets in the trousers of the 11 fliers. Customs sleuths did not arrest any of the carriers as the value of the gold each of them was trying to smuggle out was less than Rs 20 lakh.
“The total weight of the seized bullion was 3.11 kilos and its market value is Rs 1.66 crore,” said a customs official. During the interrogation, the 11 gold carriers said they hail from northern Telangana and told the officials that some unidentified smugglers had handed them over the gold biscuits at Dammam Airport to deliver the same to their associates in Hyderabad.
“The smugglers bought flight tickets of the 11 carriers and they might have also given them paltry amounts to meet their expenses as they will be in 14-day mandatory quarantine before getting a clearance to go home,” said a customs official. The investigators suspect that the 11 offenders would have to hand over the gold to the smugglers only after the end of their quarantine period.
The cellphone data of the 11 offenders is being examined to find out the members of the smuggling gang and a case was registered under the Customs Act.
This is the second gold smuggling case registered by the Hyderabad customs sleuths at the RGIA since the beginning of lockdown. Prior to this, on July 22, a woman passenger trying to smuggle 74 gram of gold concealed in a wrist watch was booked.
On Thursday, the customs officials along with CISF sleuths also identified five passengers when they were trying to smuggle sandalwood from Hyderabad to Khartoum and seized 78.5 kilos of sandalwood.
According to customs officials, the value of the smuggled gold is Rs 1.66 crore.
Based on passenger profiling, the air intelligence unit sleuths of the customs department intercepted the 11 passengers. When subjected to scanning and frisking, the sleuths found gold biscuits concealed in secret pockets in the trousers of the 11 fliers. Customs sleuths did not arrest any of the carriers as the value of the gold each of them was trying to smuggle out was less than Rs 20 lakh.
“The total weight of the seized bullion was 3.11 kilos and its market value is Rs 1.66 crore,” said a customs official. During the interrogation, the 11 gold carriers said they hail from northern Telangana and told the officials that some unidentified smugglers had handed them over the gold biscuits at Dammam Airport to deliver the same to their associates in Hyderabad.
“The smugglers bought flight tickets of the 11 carriers and they might have also given them paltry amounts to meet their expenses as they will be in 14-day mandatory quarantine before getting a clearance to go home,” said a customs official. The investigators suspect that the 11 offenders would have to hand over the gold to the smugglers only after the end of their quarantine period.
The cellphone data of the 11 offenders is being examined to find out the members of the smuggling gang and a case was registered under the Customs Act.
This is the second gold smuggling case registered by the Hyderabad customs sleuths at the RGIA since the beginning of lockdown. Prior to this, on July 22, a woman passenger trying to smuggle 74 gram of gold concealed in a wrist watch was booked.
On Thursday, the customs officials along with CISF sleuths also identified five passengers when they were trying to smuggle sandalwood from Hyderabad to Khartoum and seized 78.5 kilos of sandalwood.
Coronavirus outbreak
Trending Topics
LATEST VIDEOS
More from TOI
Navbharat Times
Featured Today in Travel
Get the app