A man who tried to smuggle 9.2 kg of gold to Hyderabad concealed as heating coils of dry iron boxes was caught at the airport. Customs officials at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad on Friday night seized the gold, estimated to be valued at Rs 3.46 crore, from the passenger who arrived from Dubai.
Officials said the gold bars were in 'V' shape, and were concealed in the plates of the iron boxes. The yellow metal was kept in the place of the heating coils in the iron boxes, which was kept in two bags that were checked-in.
The man, who was in his mid-20s, was caught carrying four such iron boxes with him. The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) reportedly had a prior tip-off about the illegal smuggling and took the man acting as a courier into custody.
The passenger was given two bags by agents in Dubai to be handed over to an unknown person in the city. He was offered a commission for transporting the gold.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized the gold.
On July 14, passengers carrying 6.4 kg of gold worth Rs 2.17 cr from Umrah in Saudi Arabia were intercepted at the exit gate of the Hyderabad-bound Jeddah flight SV-744. Each of them was found to be carrying Foreign Marked Gold in the form of cut pieces, 24-carat kadas (bangles) and 24 karat chains but did not have any documents to prove it was being legally imported.
Earlier in May, in two separate incidents, two passengers were caught smuggling gold at the airport. While one passenger was caught with 33 gold bars worth more than Rs 1 crore in a cloth that was taped to his waist and in his shoes, another woman passenger was caught with 11 kg gold that is worth more than Rs 3 crore, along with Rs 1.5 crore in foreign currency.