Mangaluru: City Airport customs seize golden iron box @ Rs 53 lac from Dubai passenger

Bellevision Media Network

Mangaluru, Nov 19: The officers of customs at Mangaluru International Airport seized about 2 kilograms of gold valued about Rs 53 lac from a passenger who arrived from Dubai.

 

On a reasonable suspicion, the officers enquired with a passenger as to whether he possessed any dutiable items to be declared to customs.  As the passenger could not provide satisfactory reply and was incoherent while responding to the officers, his baggage was subjected to detailed examination.

 

The examination resulted in detection of an object coated with black metallic paint and molded in the form of heating coil ingeniously concealed inside an iron box carried by him.  The gold assayer has confirmed the object as that of pure gold of 24 carat.

 

On interrogation, the passenger has deposed that the he intentionally concealed the gold object to avoid detection by customs and to evade payment of appropriate duties of Customs.  Since the gold object has been smuggled into India in contravention of the provisions of the Customs Act of 1962 read with the Baggage Rules, 1998, the same weighing about 2 kilograms and valued about Rs 53 lac was seized.

 

The passenger was arrested on Tuesday November 17 and produced before the principal civil judge (senior division) and chief judicial magistrate, here to remand him.

 

Further investigation is in progress.