PANAJI: The air intelligence wing of the commissionerate of customs Wednesday seized 700g of gold that was being smuggled into the country from Dubai and filed a case against an individual for attempting to smuggle the gold through the Goa international airport. With customs officials increasing their vigilance, smugglers are now resorting to creative methods to smuggle gold, this time in the form of gold screws.
“Quantity wise it is a small amount but this is a new modus operandi and we have to see whether this will continue. It requires more effort to detect,” commissioner K Anpazhakan said.
Since the gold seizure is not worth more than 20 lakh, customs officials have not arrested the culprit and have instead filed a case against the person. The suspect flew into the country by the early morning Air India Dubai-Goa flight. The gold worth just above 15 lakh was hidden in the suitcase and was in the form of screws.
Anpazhakan accepted that larger consignments were usually smuggled by the carriers on their body while smaller quantities were being broken down to appear like everyday objects before being smuggled into the country.
The suspect flew into the country by the early morning Air India Dubai-Goa flight. The gold worth just above 15 lakh was hidden in the suitcase and was in the form of screws.
