Airport employee held for smuggling gold worth 3 cr

A contract employee of Trivandrum International Airport was held for smuggling about ten kilograms of gold, worth about Rs 3 crore.

Five ground handling employees on contract at the airport were also held earlier this month for gold smuggling.

The modus operandi of the racket is that carriers posing as passengers would bring the gold from Gulf countries and it was then handed over to the ground handling employees at the airport. The ground handling employees would smuggle it out of the airport evading customs checks.

The one held on Tuesday was identified as Anish, who was working as an air conditioner mechanic. Airport CISF security officers found Anish in suspicious circumstance and he even tried to run away. But he was held and handed over to the air customs officials at the airport.