Chennai: Customs and police have tightened surveillance at Tamil Nadu's all four international airports after seizure of smuggled gold worth crores from Chennai airport on Saturday.
On Sunday, customs officials seized 1.3 kg of gold, valued at Rs 59.3 lakh, from four Sri Lankan nationals, while 2.52 kg gold, worth 1.1 crore, was seized from another passenger on Saturday.
Another passenger who smuggled in 395 g of gold in paste form, worth Rs 17.5 lakh, concealed in his rectum, was apprehended on Saturday while 540 g gold, worth Rs 24.7 lakh, was seized from under the seat of a flight that landed at Chennai from Colombo.
With these back-to-back seizures, the Customs have intensified the vigil at the international airports at Chennai, Madurai, Tiruchi, and Coimbatore.
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A special team of the state police has also increased surveillance outside all these airports as there were intelligence inputs that some organisations were trying to smuggle in gold through these for funding nefarious and anti-national activities.
While most of those who were apprehended were lower-level carriers who work for just Rs 30,000 and return tickets, the focus of the agencies is on the big sharks, including certain jewellers.
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The state intelligence is also tracking the gold being bought by some leading jewellers in the state to see whether it is smuggled.
Talking to IANS, a senior officer on Customs air intelligence at Chennai airport said: "There is a higher influx of gold through the airports of Tamil Nadu and we have stepped up our surveillance. There is an organised cartel that is functioning and coordinating with Colombo and Dubai for smuggling in of gold into the state."