2 passengers caught after footwear exchange in Dubai-Bengaluru flight; 1.3kg gold paste seized

News Network

September 19, 2018

Bengaluru, Sept 19: Customs officials have successfully thwarted a mid-air attempt to smuggle gold on board an Air India flight from Dubai. The episode ended with the arrest of two men and seizure of 1.32 kg of gold paste worth Rs 41.3 lakh concealed in their footwear.

The officials claimed that the modus operandi was to grind gold ornaments into a paste and conceal it in the inner lining of the footwear of one of the carriers who boarded the flight from Dubai. “It’s a novel idea devised by smugglers to evade detection after we increased vigilance,” said an official.

One passenger, identified as Samseer Ali, boarded the flight from Dubai wearing the green sandals with the gold paste hidden in the sole.

When the aircraft reached Goa, his aide Salman Faris boarded the flight and sat next to Ali. The duo arrived in Bengaluru and tried to slip away from the officials. However, following passenger profiling, customs sleuths found the two acting in a suspicious manner and detained them.

On questioning, they revealed they were smuggling gold, following which the sleuths seized the sandals Faris was wearing and cut them open to discover 1.3kg of gold paste. The duo was arrested, sources said.

Comments

if common man try to make small money then all innocient citizen of india(slaves of politices) will cry...if political party do gaint money then they become maron like above two commented person...try to grow up dude...you need money not this country...all idiots died for this country of no use..even soldier of our country get 1 lak after he dies then 10 crore for olympic metelist...people are fools..make money, live happily this is slogan from politics...people of india will be always slaves for them...

True. They can use thier creativity for good purposes

These criminals are more creative. They are adopting new ways.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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