Amritsar man tries to sneak in gold worth ₹94 lakh through Chandigarh airport

Police said they are trying to find out whether Malkit Singh was acting as a mule for some smuggler or was operating on his own.

The directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) on Wednesday seized around 3kg gold, worth ₹94 lakh, from a passenger who landed at Chandigarh International Airport on an Indigo flight from Dubai.

Representative image

The accused, Malkit Singh, 25, of Amritsar, had concealed the gold in 15 latches. He was apprehended on the basis of a tip-off.

HS Bal, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) at the airport police station, said: “The metal rods in the lathes were made of gold. The accused confessed that it was his first attempt to sneak in gold. A case has been registered and investigation is on.

A DRI official, who did not want to be named, said the price and quality difference of gold in the two countries is pushing the illegal trade. “We are trying to find out whether Malkit Singh was acting as a mule for some smuggler or was operating on his own,” he said.

While 24-carat gold costs ₹3,200 per gram in India, it is available for around ₹2,600 in Dubai. Also, purity of the yellow metal in Dubai makes it particularly attractive to smugglers.