Man held with gold strips at Mangalore airport

A 24-year-old youth who tried to smuggle 233.18 grams of gold in the form of strips, worth Rs 9.39 lakh, was detained by Customs Officers (Team-II) at Mangalore International Airport (MIA) on Thursday night.

Mohammed Mahir Patla Majeed from Patla in Kasaragod, who arrived from Dubai by Air India Flight (IX384), had concealed the gold strips inside a rechargeable emergency light and solar sensor wall light.

The team comprising Assistant Commissioner Rajesh Poojari, Superintendents Srinath, Anup Kumar, Sinmay Pradhan and Inspector
Vinod Kumar intercepted Majeed.

The officers based on ‘profiling’ zeroed in on the offender and detected the concealed gold strips with the help of imaging system.

The gold was seized under the Customs Act, 1962 and the investigation is underway. But no arrest was made in this case, sources in customs department added.