Hyderabad: Sleuths of the Air Intelligence Unit of Hyderabad Customs arrested five persons for smuggling of gold from Dubai and are on the lookout for a city-based man who was supposed to receive the consignment.
The suspect slipped away after his associates were apprehended at the Shamshabad airport on March 6 with 3 kg of gold worth over Rs 96 lakh.
Hyderabad Customs in-charge commissioner M.R.R. Reddy on Friday said the five accused were caught with the gold which was moulded as wires and ball bearings concealed inside the wheels and iron frame of four suitcases.
He said the AIU had booked 137 cases from March last year to February.
The value of seized material including gold, foreign currency and cigarettes was Rs 13.1 crore, he said.
“Ignorant about import rules, several passengers fail to provide duty declaration to the Customs, which leads to the confiscating of the goods,” Mr Reddy said.
Additional commissioner Dr Manjula D. Hoshmani said female passengers who have lived abroad for over one year are allowed to carry 40 gm of gold of value not more than Rs 1 lakh and male passengers 20 gm of gold under Rs 50,000. Any quantity above that would be charged 38.5 per cent duty.
She said gold biscuits are not duty-free category, while 100 cigarettes, 2 litres of alcohol, a laptop, cash less than $5,000 and goods meant for daily use are allowed.
Mr Reddy that an interactive mobile application, ‘Indian Customs Travel Guide’, was available which will provide complete details regarding importing goods with and without the duty fee.
