GOA: Indian Customs has seized 6 gold bars weighing 4.15 kilograms that estimated RS10 million at Dabolim international Airport and arrested one woman, Shalu Chada, a native of Punjab and resident of Mapusa.
Customs officials said that Shalu along with her husband, Parminder Singh Chada, had travelled to Dubai and they returned to Goa in the wee hours via Qatar Airways.
Acting on a tip-off that the Punjabi couple was in possession of gold, DRI sleuths tracked the Chadas from the plane right up to the airport. Following a search, gold weighing 4.15kg was found on Shalu.
Customs said that the accused had hidden the yellow metal, which was found in the form of biscuits, coins and cut pieces in a specially made belt and pouch that she wore around her waist.
“We have seized 10 gold biscuits weighing 1kg each, 10 gold coins weighing 8 grams each, and a small piece of broken gold weighing 72 grams,” a source said. The gold was deposited at the customs warehouse at Vasco.
The DRI also produced the accused before the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) Vasco, where she was remanded to three days judicial custody. Shalu was held under Section 104 of the Customs Act, 1962.
The agency is reportedly investigating the increased incidence of travellers procuring gold from Gulf countries, with the Goa airport seen as a convenient destination to offload the precious metal for further illicit transactions outside the state. In the last couple of months, the DRI has conducted six search operations at the airport at Dabolim and seized around 20 kg of gold.
