Kerala: Over 500 Gms Gold Seized At Cochin Airport, Woman Passenger Held

ERNAKULAM (KERALA): Customs officials at Cochin International Airport on Tuesday seized gold weighing a total of 529.39 grams from a woman passenger who had arrived there from Bahrain, said officials.

The officials informed that a part of the seized gold was in paste form, which the woman had concealed within the inner sole of her shoes.

"A lady passenger coming from Bahrain to Cochin International Airport by flight 6E 1212 was intercepted at the green channel. During the examination of the said passenger, 2 square shaped black coloured packets containing gold in paste form totally weighing 275.940 grammes concealed under the inner sole of her shoes and five crude bangles and one gold chains totally weighing 253.450 grammes worn on her body were recovered and seized," said Cochin Customs in a statement.

The officials added that the suspicious manner of the woman passenger had led to her being searched, resulting in the discovery of the gold.

The woman was said to have arrived at the time the shift changes and attempted to rush out of the airport on the pretext that she was on an emergency visit as her mother expired.

The suspicion of the officers was aroused and they diverted her and searched her person, which led to the recovery of the gold on her body and in her shoes. The woman passenger was then detained and further investigations have been launched, said the Customs officials.

Only a day before, Customs sleuths at Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) successfully foiled another bid to smuggle gold into the country. They managed to seize 1,064.60g or over 1 kg of gold in compound form from a passenger who arrived at Cochin from Jeddah via Doha.

Customs sources pegged the value of the gold at around Rs 50 lakh.

“On the basis of profiling, customs officers intercepted the passenger. During examination, four cylindrical-shaped capsules, suspected to contain gold in compound form, were found concealed,” said sources conversant with the case.

The Customs officials said the gold was seized under relevant sections of the Customs Act. To escape detection, the gold is converted into compound form by smugglers. This way, they try to beat the metal detectors. Once the smuggled contraband arrives at the destination, pure gold is then extracted back from the compound.

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