New Delhi, March 2 Customs officers at Indira Gandhi International Airport have foiled two separate attempts to smuggle gold, seizing a total of over 3.17 kilograms of gold worth approximately ₹4.35 crore and arresting three foreign nationals, officials said on Monday.
In the first instance, Customs registered a case of smuggling on February 26 against a 39-year-old woman from Chad who arrived from Addis Ababa a day before, according to an official statement.
Acting on specific profiling and surveillance, officers intercepted the passenger for a thorough examination.
During the search, gold articles of high purity weighing 1,843 grams were recovered from her baggage. The seized gold was assessed at a tariff value of ₹2.37 crore, officials said.
The passenger admitted that the gold had been smuggled into India without paying duty, officials added, noting that the recovery was made after she confessed that the concealment was done "to evade Customs detection and payment of applicable duty".
The gold was seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962, and the woman was placed under arrest under Section 104 of the Act for her alleged role in smuggling.
In a separate incident, Airport Customs Preventive officers booked two Myanmar nationals in a gold smuggling case on February 23. The two had arrived from Yangon, another statement said.
The passengers were intercepted while crossing the green channel at the international arrival hall of Terminal-3.
Following a thorough personal search and baggage examination, the two men admitted that they had concealed gold bars inside their rectum.
"Further, four gold bars were recovered from each of the passengers," the Customs statement said, adding that eight rectangular gold bars were recovered.
The total net weight of the recovered gold was 1,329 grams, which was appraised at a tariff value of ₹1.98 crore.
Both passengers were arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act, 1962 for their involvement in the offence of smuggling, officials added.