MANGALURU: Officers of customs at Mangalore International Airport (MIA) seized about 2-kgs of gold valued about Rs 53 lakh from passenger who arrived from Dubai. On reasonable suspicion, the officers enquired with a passenger as to whether he possessed any dutiable items to be declared to customs. As the passenger could not provide satisfactory reply and was incoherent while responding to the officers, his baggage was subjected to detailed examination.
Examination resulted in detection of an object coated with black metallic paint and moulded in the form of heating coil ingeniously concealed inside an iron box carried by him. The gold assayer has confirmed the object as that of pure gold of 24 carat. On interrogation, the passenger deposed that the he intentionally concealed the gold object to avoid detection by customs and to evade payment of appropriate duties of customs, M Subramaniyam, commissioner, customs said.
Since the gold object has been smuggled into India in contravention of provisions of Customs Act, 1962 read with Baggage Rules, 1998, the objected weighing about two-kgs and valued about Rs.53 lakh, was seized. Customs officials arrested the passenger and produced before the principal civil judge (senior division) and chief judicial magistrate, Mangaluru. Further investigation is under progress, Subramaniyam said adding customs officials are alert to thwart such attempts.
