Customs dept seizes gold worth over Rs 1 crore at Kochi airport

Kochi (Kerala) [India], April 29 : Air Intelligence Units (AIU) of the Customs Department seized 1899.04 grams of gold worth Rs 1.01 crore at Kochi airport on Saturday in two instances, said an official statement.

The accused have been identified as Subair Sulaiman, a native of Palakkad district and Nisamudheen, a native of Thrissur district.

According to the customs officials, in the first instance, on the basis of profiling done by the officers of the Customs AIU batch, a passenger who arrived from Dubai to Kochi Airport by flight No.AI 934 was intercepted at the green channel.

During the examination of the accused, three capsules of gold in a compound form, weighing 835.79 grams worth Rs 44 lakhs concealed inside his body were recovered and seized.

Meanwhile, in the second instance, the passenger coming from Dubai to Kochi Airport by flight EK532 was intercepted at the green channel.

During the examination of the said passenger, four capsules of gold in a compound form, weighing 1063.25 grams worth Rs 57 lakhs concealed inside his body were recovered and seized.

Both persons were taken into custody by Customs.

Further investigation into the matter is underway.

Earlier on Tuesday, AIU of the Customs department seized a total of 788.57 grams of gold worth Rs 38 lakhs at Kochi airport, said an official statement.

"On the basis of profiling done by the officers of Customs AIU batch, a passenger identified as MK Hakkeem a native of Palakkad district was coming from Doha to Kochi by flight IX476 and was intercepted at the green channel," a customs official said.

"During the examination of the said passenger, 3 capsules of gold in a compound form, weighing 788.57 grams were concealed inside his body, were recovered and seized," the official added.

The person was taken into custody by Customs.