KOCHI: Gold smuggling through major airports continues to be a formidable challenge for the law enforcement agencies in the state despite making major arrests and seizing large quantity of illegal bullions. Cashing in on the Onam rush, the gold smuggling racket based in Dubai on Thursday made a futile attempt to smuggle in around 21 kg of gold through three major airports in South India.
Acting on a tip-off, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence sleuths on Thursday seized around 5 kg, 8 kg and 5 kg of gold from three Indigo flights which landed at Cochin, Thiruvananthapuram and Bangalore airports, respectively. However, they could nab the courier only in Kochi and the carriers who placed the contraband inside the flights that landed at Thiruvanthapuram and Bangalore managed to get out of the airports.
According to DRI officials, they received advance information that the smugglers will swing into action on Wednesday midnight and had employed couriers to smuggle in the gold through three major airports in South India making use of the Onam rush in the airlines to the state and Bangalore. Following this, DRI sleuths were deployed in major airports and they conducted extensive check on the passengers who arrived in three major airports.
However, they couldn’t seize the gold. Later when they interrogated a suspected carrier in Cochin airport he confessed that the gold had been stealthily placed inside the flight after removing a small portion of the seat. Following this, the message was passed to other airports and they also seized gold concealed in similar manner inside the flights that landed at Thiruvanthapuram and Bangalore airports.
While the officials seized 5 kg of gold from an Indigo flight that landed in Cochin, the officials recovered 8 kg of contraband each from two other Indigo flights that landed in Thiruvanthapuram and Bangalore airports. Two flights were scheduled to fly Jaipur and Chennai after reaching the international terminal of the Cochin and Bangalore airports, while the third one was scheduled to fly back to Dubai and then to Chennai.
Officials suspect either the domestic passengers who board the flights from two airports here would take the contraband out of the flights since there is no checking at the domestic terminals or the smugglers have employed airport staff or flight crew to facilitate the smuggling. Cases have been registered in connection with the incidents and a probe is on. The officials have arrested a Ramanathapuram native Bhakker Mohdhene Abdul Khader, 43, in connection with the incident at Kochi, who would be produced in the court, said officials.
Earlier, the Customs had arrested as many as 35 persons including an emigration officer and ground handling staff at the Cochin airport in connection with the smuggling of over 2,500 kg gold through the airport. However, the case has not made any headway.
