Cases of gold smuggling at the city airport have put customs officials on high alert. They have specifically been told to properly frisk passengers coming from Dubai, Kuwait and Sharjah.
In three separate incidents, the customs department at the Jaipur International Airport seized over 1 kilogram of gold worth around Rs 55 lakh from three passengers. While one passenger arrived from UAE, the other one was travelling to Jaipur from Saudi Arabia and the third one from Dubai.
According to officials, the passenger was intercepted with 435 gram of gold valued at Rs 20 lakh. The gold was concealed in the same way as in the previous case booked. “Wireless portable Speaker & Karaoke” weighing 262 gram and another piece in cylindrical shape weighing 173 gram concealed in casted form of a head of “face massager” were recovered.” It took a very long time to detach and recover the same from casted items with the help of electric cutter and other instruments by a government approved valuer,” added the official.
In the second instance,the passenger from UAE was carrying 347 gram of gold valued at Rs 16 lakh concealed in a transistor. He was carrying a radio in his trolley bag. Two solid white metal rods covered with blue coloured adhesive tape were found placed in the body of the radio fixed with the help of quick-fix. On removing blue tape white metal rods of 2-inch length each having 1 cm diameter were found. One solid rod when cut with the help of an electric cutter reflecting yellow metal reinforced inside a steel cylinder. “Extraction of the precious metal was a herculean task and one of our officers also got slightly injured in the process,” said a customs official.
On Wednesday evening, the passenger from Dubai was apprehended with 348 gram of gold valued at Rs 15.9 lakh which was yet again concealed in a radio. This was the third case in 24 hours. The passenger was carrying two solid white metal rods covered with blue coloured adhesive placed in the body of the radio, fixed with the help of quick-fix.On removing blue tape white metal rods of 2 inch length each having 1 cm diameter were found. When these solid rods of cylindrical shape were cut, the officers noticed yellow metal reinforced inside the rods/tubes. The radio was given to the passenger by one of his known at Dubai and the same was to be delivered outside Jaipur airport, to a person who would come to receive him. The officers also took him outside the airport so as to apprehend the receiver but no one turned up.
