Based on information on Friday, seventeen passengers including four ladies who had arrived from Dubai by Fly Dubai flight FZ8515 and Emirates flight EK 542 were intercepted by Chennai Air Customs officials at exit on suspicion of carrying gold.
On frisking, 48 bundles of gold paste weighing 9.03 kg was recovered from rectum. 7.72 kgs of gold worth Rs 3.93 crores was recovered, on extraction. Besides rectal concealment, 12 gold cut bits weighing 386 grams and 1 gold chain weighing 74 grams were also recovered from their pant pockets and hand bags.
8.18 kgs of gold worth Rs 4.16 crore was recovered and seized under Customs Act. Nine passengers were arrested including a lady.
On Saturday, Kalandar Ilyas, 28, of Ramanathapuram, a Sharjah returnee who took flight 6E8245 was intercepted and frisked. Three bundles of gold paste weighing 310 grams was recovered from rectum, which on extraction yielded 271 grams of gold worth Rs 14 lakhs.
Total 8.45 kg gold worth Rs 4.30 crores was seized by Chennai Air Customs in 18 cases. A lady was among the nine arrested. Further investigation is under progress.
In a similar incident last year in November, Air Customs officials in Chennai had recovered and seized 1.40 kg of gold worth Rs 73.12 lakhs from three women passengers who had hidden it in their garments and also from a packet that was concealed under an aircraft seat. A lady passenger has been arrested.
Officials had received intelligence on gold being smuggled by a lady passenger and through concealment in flight 6E-66 from Dubai. On intercepting and frisking three women passengers, the customs officials had recovered eleven packets of gold paste.
Umakolusu Beevi, 49 and Mahariba Beevi, 51, of Puddukottai had concealed three packets each of gold paste in the inside waistline of petticoats, as they were wearing sarees. Gunasundari Vijayaragavan, 35, of Madurai had hidden five packets of gold paste inside the belt, zip area of her jean. Total 11 packets of gold paste weighing 689 grams were recovered, from which 604 grams of gold of 24 K purity valued at Rs 31.41 lakhs was extracted and seized under Customs Act. Mahariba Beevi was arrested as she had an earlier offence registered against her.
