Officials of the Air Customs unit at the Cochin international airport on Monday busted an attempt to smuggle in gold and arrested three persons. Gold weighing 1.6 kg was seized from them. The metal, in the form of 13 gold bars, was found concealed in their bodies.
The accused, identified as Subramniam Murugavally, 50; Noor Mohammed Madheen, 54; and Alaudeen Mehraj Gam, 50; all natives of Tamil Nadu, had landed here by a flight from Kuala Lumpur in the morning and were intercepted at the exit gate while attempting to leave through the green channel. The arrest followed a tip off about them bringing in a huge consignment of gold.
During the interrogation, the accused revealed that they had hidden the gold in their rectums, a modus operandi that has in recent times gained popularity among smugglers of precious metals.
On examination, each of the persons was found carrying about 500 grams of gold in the form of bars and biscuits, covering the consignment with black insulation tape. Two such packets were recovered from each of the passengers.