Youth arrested for smuggling gold worth Rs 1 crore

Kochi: Customs Officers arrested a passenger, who arrived from Dubai, for allegedly attempting to smuggle gold bars valued around Rs one crore at Cochin International airport here, police said on Thursday.

The gold, in the form of 30 biscuits weighing 3.5 kg and concealed, was seized when Customs' Air intelligence Unit officials checked the youth's baggage on suspicion, a release from the Additional Commissioner of Customs office said.

The passenger, a resident of Thamarassery in Kozhikode district of Kerala, attempted to pass through 'green channel', which is used by those with no dutiable goods, it said.

"As a result of detailed scanning of his baggage, 30 numbers of gold biscuits, each weighing 116.600 grams, totally weighing 3.5 Kgs were recovered," it said.

The seized gold was valued at approximately Rs 95 lakhs, it said.

Eighteen biscuits were cleverly concealed inside a car battery charger and the remaining in the battery of an emergency light, it said adding the passenger was arrested.