Calicut airport: Customs seized 5.4 kg gold from 6 flyers, majority hid inside their body

Thiruvananthapuram: Custom officials have seized gold in paste form approximately to the tune of 5.4 kg in six different cases from Calicut International Airport. These gold are estimated to be worth Rs 3 crore.

On Saturday and Sunday night, customs officials caught six individuals with gold paste concealed either inside their bodies or in the check-in baggage.
Two capsules of gold compound weighing 619 grams concealed inside the body of one flyer Muhammad Basheer Parayarukandiyil, aged 40, hailing from Koduvally in Kozhikode who arrived from Riyadh were recovered, officials said.

Customs intercepted another passenger Karumbarukuzhiyil Muhammad Midlaj, aged about, hailing from Koduvally, Kozhikode who arrived from Dubai, and interrogation resulted in the recovery of 985 grams of paper sheets pasted with gold compound placed in bedsheets in the check-in baggage.
“An attempt was made by some criminals to abduct a passenger named Shri Ligesh (40 years), a resident of Kakkattil, who had arrived from Doha by flight no.IX374 outside the airport. CISF along with Kerala Police had foiled the attempt and Customs officials with the help of the Intelligence Officer, IB took the passenger into custody suspecting gold concealment,” an official said.

They said detailed interrogation of the passenger by the officers resulted in the recovery of two capsules of gold compound weighing 543 grams concealed inside the body.

In another instance, customs intercepted another passenger named Azeez Kollantavita, aged 25, a native of Chelarkkad, Kozhikode, who had arrived from Doha. Interrogation of him resulted in the recovery of four capsules of gold compound weighing 970 grams concealed inside his body.
Customs seized some 1,277 and 1,066 grams of gold from Sameer of Malapuram and Abdul Sakkeer both from Malapuram.