Devanahalli (Bengaluru Rural): The city's customs officials on Sunday detained three persons for attempting to smuggle gold pieces worth Rs 1.33 crore by concealing those in specially designed pockets of their undergarments.
The three passengers had reached Kempegowda International Airport in Emirates EK 568 flight from Dubai. The customs officials intercepted them after getting suspicious by their movement. The gold pieces were found during the security check. "It was revealed that the trio was trying to smuggle gold paste by concealing it in specially designed pockets of their undergarments. Three gold bars extracted from the semi-solid gold paste, weighting 2.28 kg is worth Rs 1.33 crores," said a customs official. An investigation is underway and three persons have been detained in this connection, the official added.
In a separate case two Bangladeshi nationals were arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport for securing Indian passports by furnishing fake credentials. The accused, identified as Liaquat Ali and Rizaul Shekhar, were booked under the Foreigners Act and various sections of the Passport Act. The Bangladeshi nationals had come to Bengaluru from Singapore by an Indigo flight on April 2, customs officials said.
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Earlier, on March 12, customs officials had arrested a man who tried to smuggle gold worth Rs 69.40 lakh by hiding it in his slippers. The man had arrived at Bengaluru from Bangkok by an Indigo flight. In February, another man, who too was travelling from Bangkok, was arrested for smuggling gold in the form of paste and hiding it inside his jeans.
