Customs sleuths at the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) have seized 647 gm of gold worth Rs 30.73 lakh from a passenger who arrived in the port city from Dubai. The passenger, Ibrahim Panalam Abdullah from Kasaragod in Kerala, arrived in Mangaluru by a SpiceJet flight (SG146) from Dubai late Thursday evening, a customs department release said. A surveillance team led by Customs Deputy Commissioner Avinash Kiran Rongali IRS profiled and intercepted the passenger and found the gold concealed in an inner wear worn by him.
Surveillance and interception were carried out by superintendents Sateesh and Shrikanth in the team. Further investigation and proceedings in accordance with the law is under progress, the release said. However, this is not the first time that high quantities of gold smuggled were seized in the airport by customs staff.
This incident comes after customs officials at the same airport busted three separate cases of gold smuggling and seized 2.8 kg of gold worth Rs 1.3 crore from three passengers on Wednesday. The arrested were identified as Muhamad Ashraf, Rajeesh and Mohammad Kalanad, a customs release issued on that day.
Ashraf, who had arrived from Sharjah, was found with a gold compound concealed under his feet, it said. The other person Rajeesh, who arrived by a GoAir flight, was found with gold concealed in four capsules in compound form in his rectum,the release said. The third passenger, Mohammad Kalanad was arrested following inputs from the intelligence agency. He arrived from Sharjah by a GoAir flight and was smuggling gold in compound form by concealing it packets glued under his feet, the release added.
In another incident, officials with air customs at Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) on April 4 arrested a passenger and seized gold worth over Rs 37 lakh. The passenger identified as Noushad Thrikkulath (37), a native of Kasaragod in Kerala. The passenger disembarked the Air India flight IX 384 from Dubai from where he tried to smuggle gold by concealing it inside his body through rectum.