Customs seizes gold worth Rs 38.15 lakh in Amritsar

Sleuths of the Customs department of Amritsar have seized 1,214 grams of gold, worth Rs 38.15 lakh, from two passengers who arrived here via different flights, officials said today.

The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) posted at the Sri Guru Ram Das International Airport here made the seizures in two different operations yesterday, Custom Commissioner (Amritsar) Dipak Kumar Gupta said.

In the first incident, a passenger coming from Dubai in an Air India Express flight was intercepted by the AIU when he was crossing the green channel without declaring any dutiable item, he said.

On thorough frisking, it was found that the passenger was hiding raw gold coated with Rhodium, weighing 299.5 gm, in the form of a round object worn under the sleeve of his shirt. The gold was seized and the flyer arrested, Gupta added.

Another passenger coming from Delhi via an Air India flight was intercepted by the AIU when sleuths found his movements suspicious, he said.

Twelve gold biscuits, bearing foreign marking, having purity of 24 Karat, weighing 914.40 gm and worth Rs 28,73,959, was found hidden in his socks, Gupta said, adding that he was arrested and the gold seized.