Three arrested for smuggling gold worth Rs 45 lakh at Delhi airport: Customs

Three men have been arrested by customs officials for smuggling into the country gold valued at Rs 45 lakh at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here, according to an official statement issued on Friday.

Two people were intercepted by the officials after their arrival from Jeddah on Thursday.

The officials recovered 1 kg gold - 497 grams and 503 grams - from the passengers, the customs department said in the statement.

One of the passengers also admitted that he had smuggled gold valuing Rs 12 lakh in his past visit on January 2, it said.

Later, based on the inquiry from both the accused, the customs officials also arrested another person, receiver of this smuggled gold, who was waiting outside the airport to collect the gold from the duo, according to the statement.

All the three accused, who are native of Rajasthan, have been arrested and gold worth Rs 45.19 lakh was seized, it said.