Chennai: In two separate cases, the Chennai Air Customs Officials seized 4.77 kg gold valued at Rs 2.47 crores under the Customs Act and made three arrests. Among the arrested are two passengers who arrived from Dubai and an outsourced staff of the airport, who had colluded with the smugglers.
Based on intelligence on gold smuggling from Dubai via Emirates flight EK544, the Air Customs officials maintained a special vigil.
According to officials, the movement of passengers was monitored in the transit area, after they had disembarked from the flight.
On noticing an individual entering the transit-area washroom, just after a passenger had exited, officials sprung into action and frisked the individual who had entered second. They recovered two heavy white packets from his pant pockets, which were found to contain 27 ten 'tola' gold bars of 24K purity, totally weighing 3.148 kg with foreign markings “SAM 10 TOLAS GOLD 999.0”. It was valued at Rs 1.63 crore.
Besides this, gold chains and ear studs weighing 48 grams, valued at Rs 2.28 lakh were also recovered.
The person who entered the washroom to collect the white packets was identified as M Nizhalravi, 29, based on his Airport Entry Pass. He was working as a software engineer with Info Soft Digital Design Services Pvt Ltd (IDDS), an outsourced agency of the Airport Authority of India, which manages the Airport.
On being brought to the immigration area, the outsourced staff had identified Niyamthullah Hadi, 35, who was standing for Immigration clearance, as the one having placed the gold in the washroom.
Both Niyamthullah Hadi and M Nizhalravi were arrested.
Earlier on Sunday, four passengers who arrived from Dubai via Emirates flight EK544 and one passenger who arrived via Indigo 6E 8245 were intercepted and frisked. 11 bundles of gold paste weighing 1.9 kg was recovered from the rectum, which on extraction yielded 1.57 kg gold valued at Rs 81.35 lakhs. The passenger Abdul Nasar was arrested.
