Four held after over 4 kg gold worth 1.87 cr seized from Chennai airport

Four passengers were arrested under the Customs Act after officials seized 4.46 kilograms gold worth Rs 1.87 crore was seized from Chennai international airport.

According to the Commissioner of Customs of Chennai airport, three passengers -- Raja, Karthikeyan and Thameem Ansari -- had arrived from Colombo in Sri Lanka on Friday night. All three were intercepted at the exit point.

During the search, three bundles containing gold paste were found concealed in the rectum of each passenger. On extraction, 1.53 kilogram of gold valued at Rs 64.36 lakhs was recovered and seized under the Customs Act 1962. Following this, Karthikeyan and Ansari were arrested.

On the same night, five passengers -- Ibrahim Sha, Sikkender Batcha, Jameel Mohamed, Dhufail Rahman and Mohammed Taha Hayath -- had arrived from Kuala Lumpur and were intercepted at the exit.

On personal search, fifteen bundles of gold paste were recovered from the rectum. On extraction, 2.78 kilogram of gold was recovered.

Furthermore, three cut bits of gold weighing 150 grams were recovered from their pant pockets. A total of 2.93 kilogram gold valued at Rs. 1.23 crore was recovered and seized. Following this, Sha and Batcha were arrested.

Further investigation into the matter is underway.