Trichy: The air intelligence unit (AIU) of customs department in Trichy International Airport foiled two separate attempts to smuggle gold paste and foreign currencies from two different air passengers in the last two days. The combined official value of confiscated items was estimated at 51.2 lakh.
Customs in an official statement said that the AIU officers intercepted a male passenger travelling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by Air Asia Flight (AK-25) on Sunday. During an inspection, the officers seized a rectangular piece of 24 karat gold weighing 494g valued at 42.8 lakh. The valuables were extracted from gold paste concealed in the brief and belt area of the jeans worn by the passenger. The passenger has used multiple straps to conceal and smuggle the gold.
Similarly, in another incident, officials seized 271 notes of foreign currency equivalent to 3.9 lakh and Indian currency of 4.5 lakh, totally equivalent to 8.4 lakh from a female passenger who was bound for Kuala Lumpur by Air Asia flight (AK-28) on Monday. Cases have been booked by AIU Trichy for both incidents and further investigations are underway.
PIC:
Currencies seized from a passenger at Trichy international airport
