Hyderabad: A passenger who smuggled 2.9 kg of gold valued at Rs 1.11 crore into the country on a flight from Sharjah was apprehended by Air Intelligence Unit sleuths at Rajiv Gandhi International (RGI) Airport early on Sunday.
According to the Customs officials, a team of Air Intelligence Unit sleuths, who were on night duty at RGI Airport, received specific information that some persons were smuggling gold by concealing it in washroom at the international arrival hall. The team swung into action and apprehended the passenger, Shaik Abdul Sajeed.
The sleuths said Sajeed arrived at RGIA carrying 2.992 kg of foreign-marked gold in 26 bars in a packet. He went to the washroom located adjacent to the immigration area and concealed the gold bars behind a western commode.
“The passenger had concealed the gold in the washroom for subsequent removal by insiders to smuggle it out of the airport. Sajeed, a first-time traveller, admitted that the packet was handed over to him by a person at Dubai with specific instructions to conceal the gold behind the commode,” an official said.
The passenger is being placed under arrest and further investigation is in progress to nab the other persons involved in this smuggling, they said, adding that the seized gold was worth Rs 1,11,60,160.
