New Delhi: Man held for smuggling gold worth Rs 30 lk at Delhi airport

A man was caught smuggling gold worth nearly Rs. 30 lakh at Delhi airport after his arrival from Moscow, Russia. He was found with gold bars and gold wires by concealing m under his clos, Customs officials reportedly said on Thursday. man, who landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport from Moscow, was questioned by officers of Air Customs (Preventive) on Sunday.

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Gold smuggling

A detailed search revealed that he was carrying six gold bars and four gold wires. According to officials, seized gold weighed around 794 gram, costing a market value of approximately Rs. 29,96,079. gold has been seized and passenger arrested under relevant provisions of Customs Act, officials reportedly said. As of  June-April quarter, customs officials have seized 1,197.7 kg of smuggled gold, a 23% increase than  year 2018. It is expected to rise in coming months as India raised its import tax on gold to 12.5% in July's budget. Gold smuggling has also le to an increase in illegal forex transactions used to finance smuggled gold, an official reportedly said.

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Similar incident

In a similar incident, a man returning from Dubai was held at Delhi airport for allegedly smuggling gold worth Rs. 22 lakh. He landed at Delhi airport on September 3, after which he was intercepted by Customs officials for crossing Green Channel. A bagg search resulted in revealing gold weighing around 1,200 gm concealed in jeans worn by man. After extraction, 567 gm of gold with a market value of Rs 22,49,856 was recovered.

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Green channel system is for passengers t having dutiable goods, while Red Channel indicates for people carrying dutiable goods. two-channel system was opted or purpose of Customs clearance of arriving passengers

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