Hyderabad: Gold Worth Rs 1.37 Crore, Over One Lakh Smuggled Cigarette Sticks Seized At Airport

Hyderabad Customs officials at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport seized 2.279 kg of gold in three separate cases.

The customs officers discovered smuggled gold weighing 1,196 grams and valued at Rs 72 lakh during a search of the aircraft.

Source : Twitter/@hydcus

Hyderabad Customs officials at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport have seized 2.279 kg of gold valued at Rs. 1.37 crore in three separate cases. In another instance, over one lakh smuggled cigarette sticks have also been seized, PTI reported.

Customs officials said the seizures were made based on passenger profiling and surveillance. 

In the first instance, the customs officers discovered smuggled gold weighing 1,196 grams, valued at Rs 72 lakh, during a search of an aircraft that arrived at Hyderabad from Ras Al Khaimah in the United Araba Emirates (UAE). The gold was concealed behind a seat in the aircraft in paste form.

In the second case, a passenger who arrived from Kuwait via Dubai was found in possession of 752 grams of smuggled gold in the form of cut pieces of gold bars, valued at Rs 45 lakh. The officials also seized 331 grams of smuggled gold, worth Rs 20 lakh, from a passenger arriving from Sharjah. The gold was cleverly concealed in paste form within an undergarment.

In another incident, three passengers arriving from Cambodia via Bangkok were apprehended after authorities confiscated 1,01,000 smuggled cigarette sticks from them.

On Sunday, customs officials at Rajiv Gandhi Airport seized heroin worth Rs 14.2 crore from an African woman who arrived from Nairobi. The passenger, a Burundi citizen, who arrived on July 2 aboard an Air Arabia Airways flight was identified and intercepted based on passenger profiling and careful observation, officials said.

The passenger, aged around 43, was arrested under the NDPS Act, 1985, and subsequently sent to judicial custody by a court.

During the examination of her baggage, officials discovered 2,027 grams of heroin concealed within various items. The officials found that eight traditional African dresses, a handbag, and three soaps in her baggage appeared to be heavier than normal, a statement said.

While opening of the side walls and layers of the dresses, handbag, and soaps, plastic packets containing heroin were found.