Gold worth ₹30 lakh seized from three passengers at airport

Customs sleuths from the Air Intelligence Unit detected three cases of gold smuggling in the past two days at the Chennai International Airport.

On Monday, Shaik Abubakar, 24, arrived in the city from Colombo by SriLankan Airlines (flight number UL 121). When the officers inspected his check-in baggage they found blue-coloured tins of cosmetic cream. The base of the tins was heavy.

On removal of the blue paint, it was found to be 24 carat gold weighing 494 grams, valued at ₹14 lakh. The passenger had earlier arrived in Colombo from Saudi Arabia.

Later in the night, the officers intercepted Nadithullah Shaik Rahamathullah, 40, who arrived from Dubai by Emirates Airlines (flight no. EK 546) at 10 p.m.

During frisking, two gold bars weighing 350 g were recovered. They were wrapped in polythene and concealed in his pant pockets. The value of the gold bars is estimated to be ₹10 lakh.

On Tuesday morning, Rajalakshmi Senthil Kumar, 38, who landed in the city from Singapore by Air India Express (Flight no. IX 687) was checked. The officers found two crude gold chains of 24 carat purity, weighing 209 g, concealed inside inner wear. The value of the gold chains is ₹6 lakh.