Hyderabad: A passenger, who arrived from Riyadh has been arrested at Hyderabad Airport on Sunday for carrying 14 gold bars valued at more than Rs 67 lakh, Hyderabad Customs said.
According to customs, the pax arrived from Riyadh via Bahrain to Hyderabad. Based on specific information received, a male passenger who arrived by flight GF-274 (Gulf Airlines) at 5:30 am was intercepted by the Customs Air Intelligence team of Hyderabad Customs, RGIA.
On thorough checking of the baggage of the passenger, 14 gold bars of 24-carat purity were found to be concealed inside the battery of an emergency light that was brought by the passenger in his luggage, the customs said.
The total weight of the gold bars recovered is 1287.6 grams which is valued at Rs 67,96,133. The smuggled gold has been seized by Customs.
The passenger has been arrested under Indian Customs Act 1962. Further investigation is in progress. In a similar incident, on the basis of specific intelligence, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials intercepted one male domestic passenger carrying gold paste in the form of 6 capsules at RGI Airport, Hyderabad, said an official statement on May 11.
The passenger was travelling from Hyderabad to Chennai on May 9, 2023. The capsules were subject to heat treatment and gold weighing 2031.35 g of 99.5 per cent purity valued at Rs 1,30,00,640 was recovered.
It was learnt that these capsules were carried by an International transit passenger and handed over to this passenger through a small gap between the wall and the glass panel separating the International Departure Area and Domestic Departure Area at the airport, the statement added.
According to the statement, the gold has been seized and the passenger has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. (ANI)
