Bengaluru: A 17-year-old juvenile girl along with her 21-year-old woman co passenger was caught by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on January 24 at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) for smuggling 1.58 kg of contraband gold into the country. The juvenile was subsequently produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and released on bail.
The two accused were found carrying 794 gm and 786 gm of smuggled gold each on Air India flight – AI994 – from Dubai to Bengaluru via Goa. On being intercepted, they told the DRI officials that they were given the consignment by another co-passenger – Arun Kamble – in Goa. “He told them to carry the gold on their person. Kamble was arrested at KIA and was remanded in judicial custody,” said an official spokesperson.
On January 22 on a tipoff, DRI officials rummaged through a Bengaluru-bound Jet Airways aircraft from Mumbai at KIA and recovered 1632.96 gm of gold, which was hidden inside the toilet on the rear side of the aircraft. “During preliminary inquiry, it was revealed that an international passenger had concealed the contraband gold behind the commode during the aircraft’s earlier international flight. The total worth of the seized gold in both the cases is estimated to be around Rs 93 lakh,” the officer added.
