The Air Customs Intelligence Wing at Cochin International Airport Limited seized two kilogram of gold worth Rs. 55 lakh from an Indigo Airlines flight from Dubai, which landed here at 4.30 a.m. on Friday.
The gold in the form of two biscuits were found wrapped beneath a wash basin in one of the toilets inside the aircraft. The seizure was made during a routine flight rummaging operations carried out by the customs.
Considering the fact that the aircraft was to continue its operations as a domestic service to Delhi later in the day, customs authorities didn’t rule out the possibility of the gold being smuggled to the national capital.
Hidden in toilet
The gold was found from the toilet in the rear end of the passenger isle and the authorities frisked a few passengers who according to the airline crew had used that toilet. But that search proved futile. Customs also confiscated Rs. 2 lakh in Indian currency from a Trichy-based passenger who had come to board a Malindo Air flight to Kuala Lumpur from the Kochi airport on Thursday night. Since the passengers are not allowed to carry more than Rs. 25,000 in cash, the currency was seized and the passenger was allowed to continue the journey.
