Bengaluru, Nov 24: Customs officials seized 2.5 kg gold from a passenger who landed from Dubai at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Wednesday. The suspect has been arrested.
The flight landed at the KIA at 9 am from Dubai. Customs officials grew suspicious about a bag the suspect was carrying. When the passenger stated that the box in the bag belonged to his friend, the officials decided to screen it thoroughly. The officials later cut open the machine and found gold coated inside the machine.
The suspect claimed that one of his friends had asked him to carry the machine to Bengaluru. The police are yet to ascertain the identity of the person who would have sent the gold along with the accused. The suspect has been remanded to judicial custody. Airport sources said that the passenger was not aware about the gold being melted and fitted in the brand new wood cutting machine.
During 2013-14 alone, the Customs department has booked 84 cases of gold smuggling and have seized gold worth Rs 22.33 crore. In the last 8 months, more than 50 cases have been registered, sources said. In many cases, gold has been found to be melted into seed-shaped chips and hidden in dates.
In some cases, it was found that the gold biscuits were concealed in the battery pack of brand new emergency lamps, car horn sets, as beading in trolley bags, coffee grinders and even in electric stoves wrapped with carbon paper. Majority of smugglers are from Kasargod in Kerala, Alipur near Gauribidanur and Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra.
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