HYDERABAD: Customs officers’ overenthusiasm to head after gold smugglers seems to have landed them in a fix.
Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) sleuths of the customs division performed a search aboard an Air India flight that arrived at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) from Jeddah on Tuesday and seized 79 tola gold concealed in the aircraft’s wall. However, a passenger, who's suspected to have saved the gold in the hollow space, later claimed he legally brought the yellow steel or even sooner than he may just declare it on the customs check house, the AIU crew seized it.
Based on passenger profiling and intelligence input, the AIU crew zeroed in on the 25-year-old Delhi-based passenger, who boarded the Air India’s Jeddah-Hyderabad-Mumbai flight (AI 966). The AIU crew boarded the flight when it landed on the RGI Airport on Tuesday morning and carried out a search.
“We discovered 4 gold items, wrapped in a duct tape, concealed in a hollow space in the aircraft’s wall adjoining to the suspect’s seat. We seized the gold,” a customs legit said.
However, because the gold was once now not present in possession of the passenger, the AIU sleuths had to let him proceed his onward adventure to Mumbai.
After landing on the Mumbai airport, the passenger opted for the ‘purple channel’ on the customs check house, indicating he was once sporting dutiable items. The passenger instructed the customs officers that his gold was once seized by way of their counterparts in Hyderabad.
“If he can pay responsibility for the gold, he can take it. Though we are positive that the gold was once hidden in the hollow space to be picked up by way of anyone travelling as a domestic passenger in same flight from Hyderabad to Mumbai, lets now not catch somebody purple passed. With passenger claiming that the gold belongs to him and he saved it in the hollow space for safety, it turns into a difficult case to end up the smuggling perspective,” a customs source said.
Senior customs officers, inquiring for anonymity, instructed TOI that as an alternative of seizing the gold on the Shamshabad airport, the AIU sleuths should have waited for the suspect or his associate to pick it up and make an try to smuggle it out of the Mumbai airport. The AIU officers of Hyderabad have been now in touch with their Mumbai counterparts and the passenger to see learn how to wriggle out of the placement.
Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) sleuths of the customs division performed a search aboard an Air India flight that arrived at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) from Jeddah on Tuesday and seized 79 tola gold concealed in the aircraft’s wall. However, a passenger, who's suspected to have saved the gold in the hollow space, later claimed he legally brought the yellow steel or even sooner than he may just declare it on the customs check house, the AIU crew seized it.
Based on passenger profiling and intelligence input, the AIU crew zeroed in on the 25-year-old Delhi-based passenger, who boarded the Air India’s Jeddah-Hyderabad-Mumbai flight (AI 966). The AIU crew boarded the flight when it landed on the RGI Airport on Tuesday morning and carried out a search.
“We discovered 4 gold items, wrapped in a duct tape, concealed in a hollow space in the aircraft’s wall adjoining to the suspect’s seat. We seized the gold,” a customs legit said.
However, because the gold was once now not present in possession of the passenger, the AIU sleuths had to let him proceed his onward adventure to Mumbai.
After landing on the Mumbai airport, the passenger opted for the ‘purple channel’ on the customs check house, indicating he was once sporting dutiable items. The passenger instructed the customs officers that his gold was once seized by way of their counterparts in Hyderabad.
“If he can pay responsibility for the gold, he can take it. Though we are positive that the gold was once hidden in the hollow space to be picked up by way of anyone travelling as a domestic passenger in same flight from Hyderabad to Mumbai, lets now not catch somebody purple passed. With passenger claiming that the gold belongs to him and he saved it in the hollow space for safety, it turns into a difficult case to end up the smuggling perspective,” a customs source said.
Senior customs officers, inquiring for anonymity, instructed TOI that as an alternative of seizing the gold on the Shamshabad airport, the AIU sleuths should have waited for the suspect or his associate to pick it up and make an try to smuggle it out of the Mumbai airport. The AIU officers of Hyderabad have been now in touch with their Mumbai counterparts and the passenger to see learn how to wriggle out of the placement.
Gold ‘seized’ from flight lands staff in trouble
![Gold ‘seized’ from flight lands staff in trouble]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
May 03, 2018
Rating:
