Gold smuggler from Lanka caught at Metro Rail station

After landing here from Sri Lanka, the man, identified as Mohamed Haffar, skipped the Airport Metro station and instead went to the Meenambakkam Metro station to board a train to High Court station.

When the security personnel scanned Haffar’s baggage, an alarm indicated about the suspicious item inside it. When Haffar tried to escape from the station without collecting his bag, he was caught by the staff and the passengers at the station. Based on the alert received by the police at the airport, the officials rushed to the Metro station and found three gold bars in it. Police sources said the gold weighed about 350 gram, estimated to be worth Rs 12.5 lakh.

Sources said Haffar had reached Chennai from Sri Lanka by Sri Lankan Airlines flight around 7.50 pm on Wednesday. During the inquiry, he said he received the gold from an unknown person in Colombo. Police detained him and handed over the gold to the airport authorities, who detained him for inquiry. Investigating how Haffar managed to clear the Customs check at the airport, officials are trying to find out if he received any help inside the airport to avoid getting caught with the smuggled gold. Further investigation is on to identify people whoare behind this.