Customs detains six passengers with 10.22 kg gold at Amritsar international airport

The customs commissionerate has detained six passengers at the Amritsar international airport in two days and seized 10.22 kg gold worth around Rs.5 crore concealed in electrical appliances. The six passengers flew from Dubai in two different Air Arabia flights under the Vande Bharat mission, the customs officials informed on Friday.

Five passengers arrived from Dubai on flight IX–192 and were intercepted on Thursday at the Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport (SGRDJI). while one arrived on the flight G9275 of Air Arabia was intercepted on Friday, Customs Commissioner Dipak Kumar Gupta said in a press statement.

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All six passengers used same modus operandi

The gold was found hidden in different home appliances like electric iron, drill machines, juicer-mixer grinder and all six passengers used the same modus operandi, Gupta said in his statement. He further added that the gold recovered from all the passengers is of 24-carat purity that weighs 10.22 kg having a present market value of approximately Rs 5 crore. 

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Gupta revealed that due to the heightened alert as a result of recent seizures of gold at different international airports across India and the resulting inputs received from reliable sources, the staff during the targeted search and examination of the baggage of the suspected passengers noticed some suspicious shades of orange-yellow concealed in their check-in luggage. He added that the further examination of the baggages and the appliances revealed that gold was concealed inside the appliances. Further investigation is under progress, he added.

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