AHMEDABAD: The Customs department has nabbed a Ghaziabad-based man for smuggling 445 grams gold worth Rs12.03 lakh at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International airport late on Saturday night. Mohammad Imran Abdul Wahad was held with gold rods concealed in the handles of his trolley bag. This is the second incident of smuggling this month while three incidents of unaccounted gold being brought into the country were reported last month at the airport.
Wahad had arrived from SpiceJet’s SG-016 flight from Dubai. “The gold was in the form of rods. There were total six rods, four long and two small. These rods of around 444.82 grams were hidden inside the pipe of handle of trolley bag,” said a Customs official.
Sources said that Wahad is a carrier and chose to travel through Ahmedabad to escape strict scrutiny at other international airports in the country.
This is the 32nd such incident in 2015 of gold smuggling at the airport. Since January 2015, around 35.915 kg of gold, worth Rs 9.66 crore has been seized at the city airport by customs and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) while 35 smugglers/carriers have been detained.
Earlier on Wednesday, Customs department held Kerala-based Abdul Mutahlib for smuggling 709.15 grams of gold worth Rs 19.08 lakh at city airport. Abdul was held with gold foils concealed in his two suitcases. Abdul is a regular carrier and had arrived from Jet Airways’ 9W-519 flight from Abu Dhabi.
