Telangana: 2.279 Kgs gold and 1,01,000 cigarettes seized at Hyderabad airport

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 5 (ANI): In a concerted action Hyderabad Customs at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Wednesday seized 2.279 Kgs. of smuggled gold worth Rs. 1.37 crores and more than one lakh smuggled cigarette sticks, the official press release by Office of Customs department said.
Hyderabad Customs officers seized 2.279 Kg. of smuggled gold from three persons in three different cases, and more than one lakh smuggled cigarette sticks in one case.
In one case, the smuggled gold weighed, 1196 gms. valued at, Rs. 72 lakhs was seized upon rummaging of the aircraft. The gold was concealed behind the passenger seat in paste form in an aircraft which had arrived at Hyderabad from Ras al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, the statement said.
In the second case, 752 gms of smuggled gold, in the form of cut pieces of gold bars, valued at Rs. 45 lakhs was recovered from a passenger who had arrived from Kuwait via Dubai.
In the third case, 331 gms of smuggled gold, valued at Rs.20 lakhs, was seized from a passenger who came from Sharjah. The gold was ingeniously concealed in the form of paste in the undergarment of the passenger.
Further, 1,01,000 smuggled Cigarette sticks were seized from three passengers who arrived from Cambodia via Bangkok.
Further investigations are in progress.
Earlier this week, Hyderabad Customs arrested a person and seized heroin weighing 2027 grams worth Rs 14.2 crore at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
The arrested passenger carrying the drugs is a Burundi national who arrived from Nairobi to Hyderabad on Sunday, July 2.
"A total of 2027 grammes of Heroin valued at approx. Rs 14.2 crore in the international market were seized. The passenger has been arrested under the NDPS Act, 1985, and remanded to judicial custody by the Court. Diligent, alert, and prompt action by the Hyderabad Customs officers has resulted in this huge catch of narcotics. Based on Passenger Profiling and meticulous observation, the officers of Hyderabad Customs at RGIA identified and intercepted the Republic of Burundi national (a female passenger, aged about 43 Years), who arrived from Nairobi (via Sharjah) by Air Arabia Airways Flight No.G9-458 on July 2, 2023," said the official. (ANI)