Man carrying gold bars worth over Rs 20L held at IGI airport on arrival from UAE

A man was arrested at the Delhi airport upon his arrival from the UAE for allegedly carrying nearly 600 grams of gold worth over Rs 20 lakh, Customs officials said on Thursday.

The accused arrived at Terminal-3 of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport from Sharjah last week and was intercepted by Customs officials after he had crossed the Green Channel, they said.

A detailed personal and baggage search resulted in the recovery of 10 cut pieces of gold bars weighing 582 gm, one gold bar weighing 10 gm, five gold bars weighing 5 gm and one gold piece weighing 0.4 gm -- total weight being 597.4 grams and tariff value Rs 20,69,104, they added.

The gold was seized and the man arrested under relevant provisions of the Customs Act, the officials said.

For the purpose of Customs clearance of arriving passengers, a two-channel system has been adopted, under which the Green Channel is for passengers not carrying any dutiable goods, while the Red Channel is for those carrying dutiable goods.