Mangaluru: The custom officers of Mangaluru International airport seized about 1.40 kgs of gold bars valued over Rs 36 lakhs from a passenger who arrived from Dubai, on Friday.
On a reasonable suspicion, the officials enquired from frequently flying passengers as to whether he possessed any dutiable items to be declared to Customs.
The passenger failed to provide any satisfactory reply and was incoherent while responding to the officers while his baggage was subjected to detailed examination. The officials detected one unusually heavy voltage converter. On a thorough examination, the officers detected three rectangular silver paint coated metallic bars, which were ingeniously concealed in a coil portion of the voltage converter. The gold assayer has confirmed the bars as being pure gold of 24 carat.
On interrogation, the passenger agreed that he had intentionally concealed the gold bars to avoid detection by customs and to evade payment of appropriate duties of Customs.
Since the gold bars have been smuggled into India in contravention of the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 read with the Baggage Rules 1998, the gold bars valued over Rs 36 lakhs were seized.
The passenger was arrested on October 1 and produced before the Principal Civil Judge (senior division) and Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mangaluru, who remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days, said Superintendent of Customs, Mangalore Intl Airport.
Further investigation is under progress.