Customs seize gold, Saudi Riyal from air passengers

In the first incident, a 53-year-old man from Kerala, who arrived in an Air India’s Sharjah-Chennai flight via Thiruvananthapuram, was caught by Customs officials. He claimed that he doesn’t have anything to declare and tried to walk out through the green channel. When the Customs official checked him, they found that he had concealed gold worth Rs 34.23 lakh inside his wrist band. The officials seized the gold and arrested him.

During interrogation, Mohammed Rashu revealed that another passenger, who travelled in the same flight and got down at Thiruvananthapuram, placed the wrist band underneath the seat. Mohammed Rashu booked the same seat as per the plan, took the band and wore it on his hands. The Customs officials are trying to locate the man who placed the gold under the seat.

In another incident, Customs officials seized Saudi Riyal worth Rs 9 lakh from a 30-year-old man, who was supposed to board a flight to Abu Dhabi on Sunday night. When the officials checked his hand baggage, they found a parcel with the foreign currency. As he could not give the source of the forex, the officials cancelled his trip and detained him.