Bengaluru: In a major gold seizure at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), Bengaluru, the Customs sleuths busted two passengers attempting to innovatively smuggle in over 4 kg of the yellow metal worth about Rs.1.3 crore last Thursday.
Sources with the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Bengaluru Customs said their team intercepted a passenger who disembarked from Emirates flight EK 568 (from Dubai) at Bengaluru airport at 2.46 am. Inspection of his luggage revealed a medium-sized red bench vice machine with unusual rivets. Customs official dismantled the device only to find two gold bars and four cut pieces of gold, all covered in black insulation tape. The smugglers had meticulously covered the gold under 7.6 kg of thick iron sheets to avoid detection.
