Chennai: Customs officials landed a major haul of smuggled gold— about 16.4 kgs worth Rs 4.6 crore in the airport tarmac area in the Chennai airport on Monday morning.
The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) personnel noticed one of the baggage containers placed suspiciously near the domestic terminal after they monitored suspicious movement of a tow tractor ferrying baggage containers from flights.
Bomb squads rushed to the scene to check the unattended container and after it was confirmed that there were no explosive material inside, customs officials scanned through the baggage.
The baggage had come from an Indigo flight (6E 054) from Singapore. “On one of the baggage, the check-in tag from Singapore airport was missing,” a customs official said.
The gold was concealed inside a Central Processing Unit (CPU). “The seized gold consisted of 10 gold bars, each weighing 1 kg and 18 bars of 100 grams each. The rest of 4.6 kg were gold jewellery,” the official added.
Based on CCTV footages, officials zeroed in on the tow tractor driver, J Kumar and investigated him. The driver, a contract staff at the Airport was employed with Visskan aviation, to whom Indigo Airlines had outsourced baggage handling.
Investigations revealed that he had placed the trolley on instructions from unknown persons and the baggage was supposed to be taken to Delhi from here. He was arrested and remanded to judicial custody. Officials suspect the roles of other airport staff in the haul. Further investigations are on.
