E-Paper
Amritsar man held with 950gm gold concealed in turban at Chandigarh airport
Sources said that it was his nervousness during the immigration checking that caught the eyes of the custom officials.
A 39-year-old passenger returning from Dubai was caught with 942 gram gold worth Rs 29 lakh on Friday. As per information, the gold was in the shape of a hair band mould and was concealed inside his turban.
Customs officials said that the man belonged to Amritsar and is a daily wager.
He was taken to Dubai on September 24 and was sent with nearly one kg gold. During investigation, he told the agencies that someone outside the airport was about to contact him and take the delivery of the gold.
‘Nervousness did him in’
Sources said that it was his nervousness during the immigration checking that caught the eyes of the custom officials.
He was questioned for an hour before he gave up and told the agencies that the gold was hidden inside the turban.
The 39-year-old was arrested under the custom laws and later released on bail. A smuggler is prosecuted and presented before the court only if the value of the gold is above Rs 1 crore.
Why smuggling is rampant
Gold smuggling from the middle-east is rampant for its high purity and lesser price as compared to India. The price difference can be as high as Rs 5 lakh per kg.
50-kg gold worth around Rs 15 crore has been seized at the Chandigarh airport since operations began here in September 2016.
Gold rush
Sept 19: 1.9-kg gold concealed inside electric iron seized from Ludhiana resident
Sept 3: Two air passengers returning from Sharjah caught with 3.86-kg gold, valued at ₹1.2 crore
Aug 2: Nagpur man caught with nine gold biscuits, weighing over 1kg, worth ₹31 lakh
July 9: 1.16-kg gold worth ₹35.5 lakh recovered from a passenger returning from Dubai
July 6: 800-gm gold seized from an Amritsar man
July 3: 7-kg of the yellow metal — second biggest haul at the airport — was seized from a Bathinda youth
July 2: 900-gm gold seized from a Delhi woman
