Gold worth Rs 10 lakh seized from passenger at airport

The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the customs department Friday seized more than 283 gm gold from a passenger after he landed at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here.

The value of the gold seized is around Rs 10 lakh, a customs department official said.

The passenger came here from Bangkok in a Kolkata-bound flight and he was trying to smuggle the gold into the country, the official said.

Silver-coated gold rings, concealed in the buttons of garments, were recovered from the passenger’s hand baggage, he said.

The accused passenger has been detained and an investigation has been initiated, the official added.

The AIU on Tuesday had seized nine gold bars from a woman passenger and the value of the gold was more than Rs 33 lakh, the customs official said.

The woman had come to Bhubaneswar from Delhi and the gold bars were concealed in the body of an emergency light, the official said.

A total of 122 cigarette packets, worth more than Rs one lakh, was also seized from her, the official said.