3,675 gm of gold in lathe machinery seized at Coimbatore airport

Acting on information that a passenger from Sharjah was smuggling gold, the DRI sleuths subjected all the passengers and their luggage to a thorough check. On suspicion, the DRI staff intercepted Amalraj, 25, a native of Ernakulam in Kerala and examined his suitcase. Amalraj had stuffed machinery equipment meant for lathe in his suitcase. 

When officials scanned it, they detected gold bars hidden inside the equipment. 

“While passengers usually bring valuable items from abroad, it made us wonder why Amalraj had brought machinery equipment all the way from Sharjah. Our suspicion proved right as checks revealed that he was in possession of gold,” said an official. 

The DRI officials dismantled the equipment and retrieved the gold bars weighing about 3,675 grams. It was suspected that Amalraj was only a carrier and further inquiries were under way to unravel the network. 

A case was registered and the accused was produced in court and remanded in judicial custody. In March, the DRI had caught two men who had concealed gold weighing about 1,381.44 grams and valued over Rs 43 lakh in their belts at the Coimbatore International Airport. 

Another passenger was caught recently with 2,920 grams of gold worth Rs 90.52 lakh. Interestingly, he had broken the gold into small granules and concealed them in a compressor of a cooler.