Two foreign nationals held for gold smuggling

Two foreign nationals were arrested from international airport here in separate cases for allegedly trying to smuggle in 1.29 kg of gold valued at Rs 34.13 lakh from England and Sri Lanka, a customs official said today.
Rajanayagan Pathmarajah, holding a British passport, arrived from London on a Jet Airways flight at Chhattrapati Shivaji International airport on Tuesday, the Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs said.
While he was passing through a green channel, he was intercepted and upon checking his luggage, 1.025 kg of assorted gold jewellery worth Rs 27.12 lakh was found, an official said.
He was subsequently arrested, the official said adding that the green channel should be used by those passengers who do not carry any dutiable goods or other items for which declaration is required.

In another case, Sri Lankan national Mohamed Rawsan Hamsathul Luthufi, who arrived from Colombo on a Jet Airways flight, was intercepted at the airport on Tuesday.
During checking, he was found possessing two gold bars collectively weighing 150 grams and two gold chains of 115 grams. The total value of the gold is Rs 7.01 lakh, the official said.
The accused had concealed gold bars in the battery compartment of a mobile phone after removing battery while the gold chains were concealed in his pants, the official said.