23 kg gold seized at Kozhikode airport, passengers from 7 flights searched
Customs officials said this is one of the biggest haul in recent times in the country. The operation was carried out jointly by a team of the sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the customs department after a tip-off.
The Customs Preventive department on Wednesday seized 23 kg of smuggled gold at Karipur international airport in Kozhikode, Kerala. A customs department official said that this is the largest single-day haul of the yellow metal in recent times in the country.
The precious metal was seized under an operation named 'Desert Storm', news agency PTI reported. In the day-long operation, launched after a tip-off, passengers from seven flights were searched and 23 arrested.
These passengers arrived in Kozhikode from various Gulf countries. Some people who came to receive gold were also arrested.
The operation was carried out jointly by a team of the sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the customs department.
In the past too, officials have seized gold at various airports across Kerala. In August last year, customs officials arrested a person from Kannur international airport after they found that he was wearing double-layered jeans in which gold-laced paste worth ₹14 lakh was hidden.
Date seeds, thick bra straps, heavy belt buckles, shoe soles, sausages and gold paste are among some of the items the ingenious smugglers try in order to smuggle gold in.
In 2020, in Kozhikode, a passenger was arrested after gold was detected in his face mask. A woman passenger, carrying her baby, was found holding a water bottle made of gold. According to officials, hiding gold in cavities and swallowing gold capsules are also common.
