In Bengaluru, officials of the Customs Department have arrested a passenger at the Kempegowda International Airport for allegedly smuggling gold in an iron box. The accused was travelling from Dubai and further investigation is going on. The accused was carrying gold bars worth Rs. 1.6 crore, informed the customs department on Friday; the arrest took place on Tuesday.
A post on Twitter read, “On the basis of passenger profiling, Customs officers at Kempegowda International AirpoBengart, Bengaluru nabbed a smuggler in the wee hours of November 29. The passenger arrived at Bengaluru airport from Dubai via flight no. EK 568 was attempting to smuggle gold concealed in an iron box inside the checked in bag.”
All the recovered gold was seized and the accused was sent to judicial custody. The post further read, “2 pieces of boat shaped gold bars totally weighing 3015 grams, estimated to be worth Rs. 1.6 crores were extracted from the box with the help of a metal cutter. All the items were seized and the arrested person was sent to judicial custody.” The officials also put out the pictures of the iron box and seized gold bars that were recovered from the accused.
In October, the Customs Department in the city arrested a person at the Bengaluru airport for allegedly smuggling crude gold chains into Bengaluru. They also seized around 900 grams of gold valued at around ₹46 lakh. The accused was sent for further questioning by the customs department.