The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru booked two people in separate cases for smuggling gold into the city.
In the first case, the woman passenger had wrapped two cut gold bars weighing 502.43 grams with black insulation tape and strapped them to her calves. She also carried a 197.57-gram crude gold chain in her handbag. The total gold she carried on her person was valued at Rs 43,65,291.
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The woman, a resident of Bengaluru, arrived from Bangkok on the Thai AirAsia flight FD 137 on May 21, two days after she departed from the Bengaluru airport. Tipped off by the intelligence agency, AIU officials intercepted her and found the smuggled gold. They booked a case against the woman on May 22.
A day before this incident, a case had been booked in which a gold bangle weighing 500 grams was seized from a passenger arriving from Bangkok on May 20. Based on profiling, AIU officials intercepted the passenger, interrogated, and searched him.
Officials seized the rhodium-coated circular gold bangle on his left arm, concealed under his shirt. The bangle weighed 499.87 grams and was valued at Rs 31,14,190.
Published 01 June 2023, 19:12 IST