In what appears to be a never-ending spree of successive gold smuggling bids, an attempt to smuggle in 2.50 kg of gold worth around ₹88 lakh was thwarted by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs at the Cochin international airport on Saturday.
This was the fifth smuggling attempt in as many days involving gold in excess of one kg through the airport. Customs sleuths intercepted a resident of Palakkad who was found carrying gold in paste form. The accused landed at the airport on a flight from Sharjah at 2.30 a.m.
The gold wrapped in three polythene covers was found hidden inside the underwear and around the waist of his jeans, sources said. He was arrested after an hour-long interrogation. Investigation is on to find out whether more people are involved in the case.
Customs AIU officials have seized illegally smuggled gold in successive days since Tuesday. Officials attributed the recent spurt in smuggling attempts involving higher quantities of gold to fluctuating prices.
On Friday, a resident of Malappuram was arrested while attempting to smuggle in nearly 1 kg of gold valued at around ₹30 lakh. It was found concealed in a torch and was made to look like batteries.
Another passenger was intercepted on Thursday with 1.50 kg of gold.
