Chennai: Customs and DRI officials reaped gold at the Chennai international airport on Friday after they seized more than 10 kg of gold from five persons within a span of 24 hours in a joint operation. The smuggled gold is worth Rs3 crore in the international market, airport sources said, adding that three persons were arrested and two others including a woman are being questioned.
At around 9.30 am, Customs officials intercepted a 55-year-old passenger on suspicion. He was identified as Farooq Ali of S.P.Patnam, Ramanathapuram district. Airport sources said that Farooq came in an Emirates Airlines flight from Dubai. Customs officials questioned him based on specific inputs and found around 3 kg of gold hidden inside an electric motor he was carrying with him. He was arrested and the gold was seized.
Two hours later, a 26-year-old passenger Sikander Basha who came in a Malaysian Airlines flight was checked and officials managed to recover 5 kg of gold from him, sources said. Sikander is a native of Tiruvadanai in Ramanathapuram district. He had hidden around 10 gold biscuits (each 500 grams) in a makeshift compartment in his suitcase, according to customs sources. He was arrested and the gold worth Rs 2.4 crore was seized from him.
Earlier on Thursday night, 1.5 kg of gold was seized from a passenger, Jeyaprakash (25) of Chennai who concealed the gold in small packets stitched inside his trousers. All three of them were arrested and around 9.5 kg of gold were seized from them. Sources said that customs officials are also questioning two other passengers including a woman for carrying single gold biscuits, each weighing 500 gms.
