Personnel from the Air Customs Intelligence have seized three kg of gold, estimated to be worth around ₹1.20 crore, from three passengers, who arrived here at the Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery, from Dubai in three separate flights on Tuesday.
The passengers had arrived by Air Asia, Emirates and Air Arabia flights and had attempted to smuggle in the gold by hiding it in their bodies.
The flow of passengers attempting to smuggle in gold through the international airport here has continued uninterrupted. There have been substantial gold seizures despite the COVID-19 restrictions imposed on international flights. The customs sleuths had seized more than seven kg of gold on two occasions in March and once in August.
In a more remarkable case, Customs personnel had seized more than five kg of gold which was hidden in dumb-bells. The incident in December 2019 had highlighted the large demand for the precious metal even as international prices had ruled high. The two passengers, who tried to smuggle in the gold, had arrived from Kuwait.
