A husband and wife from Bhatkal, who arrived from Dubai by Air India Express flight at 9.30a.m. were detained and during a search, 2 kg of gold valued at Rs 50 lakh was recovered from wife.
Sources privy to search and seizure said the case is unique in the sense that customs officials are generally "soft" on families and this is the first instance where a woman had acted as conduit in gold smuggling.
"The gold - two biscuits and gold chains that was wrapped - were concealed in the undergarments worn by woman," sources said. The couple and their five-year-old child were detained and the duo was formally arrested.
The accused were produced before the chief judicial magistrate here. They have been remanded to 15-day judicial custody.
The arrested man is a frequent traveller and investigations are on to ascertain if he is part of a racket or if this happens to be his first brush with law.
According to sources in the customs department, gold smuggling could go up in wake of repeated calls from top functionaries of the UPA government which is appealing to people not to purchase gold due to widening current account deficit.
Comments
Add new comment