NEW DELHI: The customs at IGI airport on Tuesday seized gold worth nearly Rs 15 lakh hidden in the stand of a disco light by an Indian national, who arrived from Doha.
The person, alighting from flight 9W 533, was intercepted after a tip off; he had a passport issued in Kozhikode, Kerala, and concealed 467 grams of gold in the disco light fixture.
“This is a new modus operandi. The person said he was carrying the disco lights for an event. We scanned the whole set-up and detected metal in the hollow of the stand and recovered gold after dismantling it. The man says he has bought the gold from his savings; we have detained him for a thorough inquiry,” a senior customs officer said.
Customs also recovered Rs 35 lakh in the demonetized denominations of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 from the baggage of four passengers who alighted at the IGI airport on Tuesday afternoon by flight numbers RQ 115 and 4Q 243, from Kabul. All the four men are Afghan nationals and preliminary inquiry revealed that they have been making frequent visits to India since the demonetization drive, the officer said, adding that all the seizures were made by a team led by Karan Thapar, deputy commissioner (customs), IGI.
The customs at IGI airport has seized more than Rs 7 crore in cash, over 35kg in gold, and foreign currencies like USD (1,05,300 notes), Euro (10,500), and Afghani (4,960), since November 9.
“Smugglers are coming up with novel methods to conceal gold and currency. On Monday, a family of six was detained with 16kg of gold hidden in babies’ diapers. We have also recovered gold hidden in private parts like the rectum, under cloths, stereos, cell phones, even inside fruits! We have enhanced our vigil since the currency ban,” the customs officer said.
