Gold worth Rs 54 lakh seized at Kochi airport

Customs officials at the airport here seized gold worth Rs 54 lakh in three separate incidents in the past two days.
Officials of Air Intelligence Unit, Air Customs, recovered four gold bars totallyweighing 350 grams and valued at around Rs 10.58 lakh from a passenger who arrived last night from Dubai, a Customs release said here today.
The gold was found concealed inside speciallystitched pouch on the inside of the waistband of the pants worn by thepassenger, they added.
The AIU also made two seizures today.
The first was from a resident of Palakkad district whocame by an Air India flight from Jeddah to Kochi.

On suspicion, he wasintercepted at the exit gate and on search of his baggage, eight cut pieces of gold totally weighing 436.4 grams and valued ataround Rs 13.22 lakh was found concealed inside a hand mixer brought by the passenger in his baggage, the release said.
The second seizure of one gold bar weighing one kg and valued atRs 30.15 lakh was made from the toilet of a flight belonging to a private airline, which arrived from Dubai.
Customs CommissionerSumit Kumar said the total seizure of gold for this month so far is 7.616 kg valuedat Rs 2.24 crore from 20 cases.