The airport customs have tightened the noose on gold smugglers who are trying to get gold into the country without paying the taxes. In the latest seizure done by Chennai Air Customs at the Chennai International Airport on Saturday, the officers seized 1.7kg gold from five passengers.

The total gold value was estimated at Rs 87.6 lakh. The passengers had arrived from Dubai at the Anna International airport, where the custom officers stopped them at the exit. The passengers were trying to evade the scanners by carrying gold cut bits and gold paste, but they were stopped by the officers at the exit on suspicion of carrying gold.

Gold siezed at Chennai
ANI

Chennai Air Customs seize gold

According to a release from the Office of the Commissionerate of Customs, details of the seizure are as follows:

Passengers carrying the gold were identified as Nouffar (28), Ahamed Ershad Ali (31), both from Ramanathapuram, Nandha Kumar (23) of Kanchipuram, Muruganandam Mohan (38) of Chennai and Sathan Usen (25) of Puddukottai. These passengers arrived from Dubai by an Air India Express flight.

Chennai airport
Twitter/Chennai (MAA) Airport

The customs officers seized 16 gold cut bits weighing 597 grams from hand baggage and two packets of gold paste was also recovered. The officers conducted personal search and found one gold paste concealed in shoes of one individual and another one was carrying in jeans pocket. A total of four gold paste packets were recovered, of which 701 grams of gold was extracted.

Three bundles of gold paste totally weighing 428 grams was recovered from rectum of one of the individual, which yielded 398 grams of gold. In total, 1.7 kg gold of 24k purity was extracted valued at Rs 87.62 lakh, UNI reported.

Earlier this month, Chennai Air Customs on Sunday said it had seized gold worth Rs.7.5 lakh stuck under a medical bandage on a passenger's back.