1.12 kg gold paste seized from air passenger in Hyderabad

Gold weighing 1.12 kg worth Rs 34.5 lakh suspected to have been smuggled from Colombo has been seized from a passenger at the international airport here, DRI said today.

Acting on tip off, officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) intercepted a passenger who arrived by a flight from Madurai yesterday.

Upon examination it was found that the passenger was carrying two packages in his hand luggage containing paste weighing 1850 grams, which had 1,120 grams of gold content, a DRI release said.

Investigation revealed that the passenger was entrusted with the job of retrieving the gold paste during the domestic run of the flight.

Whereas the said gold paste was smuggled from Sri Lanka and concealed in the aircraft by his associate on its international run from Colombo to Madurai, so as to avoid customs checks at the international airport, it said.

A total of 1120.780 grams of gold was extracted from the gold paste, valued at Rs 34.57 lakh and has been seized under the Customs Act, 1962.

Further investigation is in progress, the release added.