As many as 530 grams of gold were seized from a male passenger coming from Sharjah by the customs team at Varanasi's Lal Bahadur Shastri International (LBSI) Airport on Wednesday. News agency ANI reported that the gold seized was 99.50 per cent pure and valued at more than ₹27 lakh.
It was kept in the form of brown paste in two black plastic pouches concealed by pasting them with each of the soles of the man's feet. He wore socks to conceal these pouches, which were recovered during a personal search of the passenger, visuals shared by ANI showed.
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Further proceedings of arrest for production before the Special CJM (Economic Offences), Varanasi, and further investigation are currently under process. More details regarding the seizure are awaited.
The incident comes a day after gold worth more than ₹30 lakh wrapped in adhesive tapes was found hidden in a SpiceJet Bangkok-Kolkata flight. The gold was recovered by intelligence officers at the Kolkata airport and weighed approximately 600 grams.
On July 14, the customs department issued controlled delivery regulations, authorising officers to track suspicious consignments of items, including gold and drugs among others.
{{/usCountry}}On July 14, the customs department issued controlled delivery regulations, authorising officers to track suspicious consignments of items, including gold and drugs among others.
{{/usCountry}}According to the regulations, a customs officer can install tracking devices to monitor the movement of suspected consignments.
Also Read| Gold, other items put under Customs’ controlled delivery regulation: Check list
Speaking to news agency PTI, a gold industry expert said the regulation tracking devices could be applied to any movement by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence or other agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The expert said the controlled delivery regulations were introduced as gold imports were increasing and there were chances of an increase in smuggling activities.
(With ANI, PTI inputs)