Customs seize contraband worth Rs 52 lakh at MIA in September

MANGALURU: Customs officers at Mangaluru International Airport at Kenjar detected 18 cases of smuggling of contraband goods and recovered 1133 grams of gold, foreign currency equivalent to Rs 12.74 lakh and 236 cartons of foreign cigarettes having no statutory pictorial warning, totally valued over Rs 52 lakh, all during September.
In one major detection, on September 27, officers recovered about 1.05-kgs of cylindrical type gold rod valued Rs 32.91 lakh which was found concealed in a black coloured hand bag carried by a passenger, who arrived by Air India flight IX 814 from Dubai.The passenger was arrested and remanded to judicial custody.
In another case three small gold biscuits and 25 gold coins valued about Rs 2.52 lakh found concealed in the hand bag of a passenger was also seized. Besides, foreign currency equivalent to Rs 12.74 lakh was seized from the possession of three passengers departing to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, M Subramaniyam, commissioner, customs stated.
Thorough profiling of passengers also enabled detection of 13 cases of smuggling of foreign brand cigarettes having no statutory pictorial warnings and 236 cartons of foreign cigarettes valued about Rs.4.25 lakh were confiscated, Subramaniyam added.