MUMBAI: Customs officials seized over 2 kg of gold biscuits, 93 foreign liquor bottles, and 208 cartons of foreign cigarettes from domestic passengers who arrived by an Air India Express flight at the international airport here in the early hours here the other day.
The operation was carried out jointly by the Customs Central Intelligence Unit and Air Intelligence Unit acting on specific input.
The advance information was that some domestic passengers travelling by the Air India Express flight from Chennai to Tiruchi were in the possession of foreign liquor bottles and cigarettes.
Accordingly, a team of Customs intelligence officials mounted surveillance at the airport to zero-in on passengers upon arrival of the flight that was to leave for Singapore from Tiruchi.
Airport sources said even as Customs officials were segregating domestic passengers’ moments after arrival of the flight, three of them suddenly went inside the toilet.
The Customs officials followed them inside the toilet and seized from them a little over 2 kg of gold biscuits estimated at Rs. 56 lakh.
The consignment which was found in their hand bags was confiscated and the three – Sheikh Mohamed, Yuvaraj – both from Chennai and Haroon Abbas of Tirupati – were arrested.
The sources said the three were only a courier and given the task to hand over the consignment to someone in Tiruchi after arrival.
Giving details of the modus operandi , the sources said the gold biscuits were brought from Singapore by the same flight to Chennai.
The gold biscuits were apparently concealed inside the life jacket of a particular seat and the job of the three was to take them to Tiruchi travelling as domestic passengers in the same aircraft hours later.
The sources said the rule that domestic passengers should not be subjected to customs check was made use of to smuggle the gold biscuits. The three were only “carriers” of the gold, an officer said.
Another team intercepted 17 domestic passengers who came by the same flight and seized 93 foreign liquor bottles from their hand luggage.
The liquor bottles are suspected to have been brought from duty free shops in Chennai airport using the ticket and passport number of international passengers.
The bottles were meant for sale at higher prices in the market.
The value of the foreign liquor bottles and cigarettes were put at Rs. 6 lakh. “It was a well-coordinated operation based on information which also led to the seizure of gold biscuits due to the alertness of the officials,” said K.C. Johny, Commissioner of Customs, Tiruchi.
In another incident, Customs officials seized 16 gold biscuits weighing 1.6 kg abandoned inside the toilet at the airport later.
The sources said the gold biscuits were found placed atop the partition wall when Customs officials conducted checks inside the toilet after the arrival of three international flights at shorter time duration.
