Passenger from Sharjah held with gold paste worth ₹70.81L, detained

Customs officials at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow seized 472

Customs officials at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow seized 472.100 grams of gold paste worth ₹70.81 lakh from a passenger arriving from Sharjah on Wednesday. The passenger’s suspicious movements during screening alerted officials, who found the gold concealed in a plastic packet tied around the waistband of his underwear to evade detection.

The passenger, identified as Kedar Mahto, a resident of Bihar’s Gopalganj district, was detained and taken to the customs department headquarters for questioning. (FOR REPRESENTATION)

The passenger, identified as Kedar Mahto, a resident of Bihar’s Gopalganj district, was detained and taken to the customs department headquarters for questioning. Officials are investigating who had tasked him with bringing the gold to Lucknow and who was supposed to receive the consignment.

According to airport sources, IndiGo flight 6E-1424 from Sharjah landed at Lucknow airport at 7.20 am on Wednesday. During the screening of arriving passengers, customs personnel noticed Mahto walking with a limp and behaving suspiciously. When questioned, he allegedly appeared nervous and gave evasive replies, prompting officials to subject him to a detailed search.

During a detailed search in a separate room, officials found a plastic packet concealed inside the waistband of Mahto’s underwear. The packet contained 472.100 grams of gold in paste form, valued at ₹70,81,500, which was subsequently seized.

Investigators are now probing the source of the gold, the circumstances under which it was brought into India and whether the passenger was acting on someone else’s instructions. They are also trying to establish the intended destination of the consignment and identify its prospective recipient in Lucknow.