Officials of the Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs seized gold bars weighing 915.5 grams, which were kept concealed in the rectum of a passenger who arrived from Sri Lanka on Friday.
R. Periasami, Commissioner of Customs (Airport), said on suspicion the officers intercepted a passenger Abdulla Jiyavudeen, holder of Indian passport. An examination of his body revealed that he was carrying eight gold biscuits, which were valued at Rs.17.72 lakh.
As the passenger had the intention of evading Customs Duty and admitted that he was carrying the gold for some monetary considerations, he was arrested and remanded to custody.
In another case the authorities detained a passenger who was found to carry 40 digital cameras and a camcorder as he failed to declare them to the authorities. The seized cameras were valued at Rs.4.60 lakh. Similarly, they also seized 30 digital cameras which were concealed and brought by a lady passenger. The seized cameras were valued at Rs.2.8 lakh, he said.
The Customs authorities also conducted a special drive against smuggling of cigarettes from Indonesia. In the last 15 days, 11 cases were booked by them in which 550 cartons of cigarettes were seized. They were valued at Rs.5 lakh, he added.
