Customs seizes gold worth Rs 64 lakh

Based on intelligence that gold was likely to be smuggled by a passenger arriving from Sharjah, the AIU officers kept special watch to nab the suspect. Officials noticed a passenger, who appeared to be in a hurry and was trying to rush through with a carton box. He was intercepted at the exit and was identified as Jahir Hussain (54) of Tiruvarur. On opening the box, clothes, household items and a toolkit was found inside.

The tool kit had an electric wrench which was unusually heavy. When the officials unscrewed it, one cylindrical metal piece painted in black was found concealed inside. A gold assayer removed the black paint and certified the metal cylinder to be made of gold weighing 1.16 Kg of 24 K purity and valued Rs 64 lakhs.

During the inquiry, Jahir Hussain said that the tool kit was handed over to him by an unknown person at Sharjah airport with instructions to hand it over to someone who will contact him once he reaches the hotel in Guindy for quarantine.

In a swift operation, one AIU team boarded the bus with the passenger and another team followed the bus. On reaching the hotel, Jahir Hussian contacted the receiver, who was waiting outside and handed over the tool kit. Jahir Hussian and the receiver, Mohammad Asif (33) of Chennai, were apprehended red-handed and arrested for further investigation.