2.2 kg gold seized from flight

Kochi: In yet another major gold seizure from Cochin International Airport, officers of the air intelligence unit of Air Customs seized 2.2 kilograms of gold from a flight that arrived from Dubai. The gold, worth Rs 66 lakh, was in the form of a crude gold chain, a crude gold bangle and pieces of gold bars of 24 carat purity, the Customs official said.

"The gold was seized from Spicejet SG018 which arrived at Cochin Airport from Dubai around 2:10 am. We had a tip-off about the attempted smuggling. Hence we searched the flight soon after all the passengers disembarked. On detailed examination, the gold was found concealed under a seat. Since there was no claimant, we have seized it," a Customs officer said.

According to Customs officials, the same flight was meant to be used for a domestic service from Kochi to Chennai.

"The smugglers cleverly concealed the gold under the seat. They would later pass the information about seat number to another smuggler who boards the domestic flight. He would retrieve the gold from under the seat and disembark at Chennai without any trouble as there is no Customs checking for domestic flights," the Customs officers aid.

The Customs department has launched an investigation to find the person who concealed the gold under the seat. The sleuths are also investigating the role of flight staff who might have passed the information about same flight being used for domestic service to the smugglers.

The seizure was effected by a team of officers led by Deputy Commissioner Abilash K. Sreenivasan, Assistant Commissioner Amit Sharma, Superintendents G. Ajith Krishnan, K.S.Bijumon, K.X.Lalfi Joseph, G. Rajesh Kumar, M. Chenchuraman and Inspectors Anjana Menon, Jimmy Mathew and Vishal.