2.6 kg gold seized from Sharjah air passenger at Kovai

This is the third major smuggled gold seizure in Coimbatore in less than a week. It is worth mentioning that 15 kilograms gold worth Rs 4.43 crore was seized in two incidents on July 23. Following the recent increase in gold smuggling incidents and seizure by sleuths from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the Customs Department stepped up vigil at the Coimbatore International Airport that connects the city with three foreign destinations, viz. 

Singapore, Sharjah and Sri Lanka. On Friday, the Air Arabia flight from Sharjah landed here at 4 am. Around 5.30 am, officials grew suspicious of a 38-year-old passenger Sadiq Ali who hails from Keezhakarai in Ramanathapuram District. 

He was picked up for questioning and on checking his hand luggage they found eight gold biscuits concealed in a carbon paper. The officials launched a search for possible suspects waiting for him at the airport to trace the gang but in vain. Sadiq Ali was detained for questioning. In the previous two incidents of gold seizures that were reported on Sunday, DRI sleuths seized 10 kg of gold from a duo who smuggled the contraband from Sri Lanka to Coimbatore through Ramnad district. 

In the other incident, a kilogram of gold concealed in electronic goods was seized from a passenger from Kuwait. The value of 17.6 kg of smuggled gold seized in Coimbatore since Sunday is estimated to be close to Rs 5.24 crore.