MANGALURU: The Customs sleuths at the Mangaluru International Airport seized diamonds totally weighing 306.21 Carats valued at Rs 1.69 crore, from a Dubai-bound passenger, on May 25.
According to Customs officials, a passenger hailing from Kasaragod in Kerala was intercepted by CISF staff at the airport during the pre-embarkation security check of passengers. The CISF personnel retrieved two pouches concealed in his underpants on the suspicion that they contained precious stones. The passenger was offloaded and handed over to the Customs officers for further investigation.
Upon inspection of the pouches, they contained 13 smaller packets with diamonds of different sizes, totaling 306.21 Carats and valued at Rs.1.69 crore. The smuggler was arrested and produced before the magistrate, who remanded him for judicial custody. Further investigations are in progress.
According to officials, this is the second incident this year where diamonds from passengers were seized at MIA. “Few months ago, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence sleuths seized diamond fragments from two passengers. This time the MIA Customs Department has seized it,” said a Customs official.
