Gold brick worth Rs 47.25 lakh seized at Chandigarh Airport from Bangkok passenger

Amid the rise in cases of gold smuggling in the country, a gold brick was seized from a passenger’s bag at the Chandigarh International Airport. Surprisingly, that single gold brick was worth a whopping Rs 47.25 lakhs. According to a PTI report, the brick was seized from the passenger who arrived from Bangkok by Air India flight. He was intercepted by the customs officials because of his suspicious behaviour. It was reported that he was carrying a bag which was tied around his waist and seemed that it contained some heavy metallic object. When it was searched, a gold brick and one cut piece of gold brick was seized. The gold was seized and the passenger was arrested. The weight of the precious metal was worked out at 1,500 grams worth Rs 47.25 lakh.

Yesterday, over one kg gold was concealed under a seat in an aircraft and seized at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. One person was arrested in the case. According to PTI report, Customs Officers of the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU), intercepted a passenger, who arrived from Dubai by an Air India flight. After checking his baggage and body with metal detectors, the officers found no contraband goods in his possession. The officers found that the passenger was a native of western Uttar Pradesh and a frequent traveller from Gulf countries to different parts of India.

In December 2017, it was reported that customs officials are keeping a tab on major European cities like Paris, Milan, London, Birmingham, and Istanbul. The European cities came to light from customs officials at Indira Gandhi International Airport after multiple cases of gold smuggling originating from these cities. It was also reported that gold smugglers have shifted to European cities to evade arrest. In November, two senior citizens from Frankfurt, Germany were arrested for allegedly smuggling 995 grams of gold worth Rs 25.54 lakh in India. On November 2, a man who flew to New Delhi from London was arrested for allegedly smuggling over 1 kg gold, worth around Rs 30 lakh. The gold was concealed in his rectum.