MANGALURU: customs Officers at Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) at Kenjar here on Monday seized gold in the form of 16 pieces of gold bars of 10 tolas each, weighing 1865.650 grams and valued at Rs 50,55,912. This was brought by a passenger who arrived from Dubai. The passenger had brought these gold rods by concealing them underneath the seat in the aircraft in which he had travelled, S Rajarethinam, assistant commissioner of customs said.
The passenger Mohammed Luqman Ahmed, 29, who arrived at MIA at about 9.30am by Jet Airways flight 9W531 from Dubai, is a resident of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. The passenger has been arrested and produced before the chief judicial magistrate, Mangaluru for remand. Further investigation is under progress, Rajarethinam said, adding there is a steady detection of cases of gold smuggling by various ingenious manner including hiding it inside body crevices.
