Ethiopian held with 3.5 kg gold at airport

Airport sources said that they were able to detect the 10 cases of smuggling on Wednesday night and Thursday morning due to the constant vigil.

On Thursday, three passengers — Irsath (24) of Ramanathapuram, Mohamed Sirajudeen (29) of Chennai, who arrived from Colombo by Srilankan Airlines and Spicejet respectively and Muzammil Riswan (30) of Chennai who came from Dubai by Indigo Airlines — were intercepted at the exit of the arrival hall.

After a body check, gold concealed in their rectums were recovered. Twenty-four 24 karat gold weighing 909 gms valued at Rs 30 lakh was recovered.

In the first seizure based on a specific tip-off, an Ethiopian woman Muhubo Aden Muhamed (56), who arrived from Nairobi via Sharjah by an Air Arabia flight, was intercepted at the arrival hall. On questioning whether she was carrying any gold, she was evasive in her replies and appeared to be nervous. After checking her, a yellow colour metallic powder, which was kept concealed in her undergarments, was recovered.

It was found to be 1.26 kg gold valued at Rs 39.15 lakh and seized under the Customs Act, 1962. She was later arrested. From her travel documents, it was found that she has come to India several times. This is her first time landing in Chennai.

In another incident, two passengers — Sahabar Sadiq Al (48) and Iburahimsha (44) — who arrived from Colombo by a Srilankan Airlines flight were found to be carrying gold in their rectum. On extraction, 483 gm of gold of 24 k purity valued at Rs 16 lakh was recovered and seized.

In four other incidents, Mohamed Sulthan (43) of Madurai, Sulaiman (23), Sheik Abdullah (22) and Ajmal Khan (33) of Ramanathapuram arrived from Colombo by Air India flight and 880 gm gold worth Rs 29 lakh was seized from their rectum.