An attempt to smuggle over 1.165 kilogram of gold, worth about ₹30 lakh, inside an audio system, was thwarted by Air Intelligence Unit of Customs Department at Kempegowda International Airport on Wednesday.
The man who allegedly acted as an illegal courier was arrested.
On Wednesday evening, intelligence sleuths were scanning passengers who arrived at the airport from different countries.
Based on suspicion, they intercepted Mohammad Raffi Shaik (40). During enquiry, the officers realised that he was coming from Muscat by Oman Air WY 283 that landed at the airport around 5.50 p.m. When the officers checked his luggage, they found nothing in it.
However, they checked an audio speaker he was carrying and opened it and found 11 gold biscuits concealed within.
The passenger was detained for further investigation.
It was found that he was from Simhadripuram in Cuddapah district and had gone to the Gulf in search of work a year back.
He then found work as a ‘helper’ in a metal fabrication unit at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, he could not make ends meet as his employer was not paying his salary properly and he could not send money to his family. Though he wanted to return to India, he could not as his contract was for a period of two years and his passport was in the possession of his employer. He managed to get an emergency certificate from the Indian Embassy and got permission to return to India.
When he was getting ready to fly back to his hometown, an acquaintance of his from Andhra Pradesh offered him free ticket to India if was willing to act as a courier.
He was told that he would just have to carry a speaker which the gold would be concealed.
Mohammad Raffi Shaik was also told that a person would collect the speaker at Bengaluru Airport.
Due to the dire need of money, he agreed to it and carried the goods. Further investigation is on to check if he had committed similar crime before.
