Gold worth Rs 67 lakh seized from duo at Mangaluru airport

Mangaluru: Gold worth Rs 67 lakh has been seized from two passengers at the international airport here, officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said on Wednesday.

The two passengers, who had arrived here from Dubai on Tuesday, were stopped and checked based on a tip-off, a DRI press release said.

One of the passengers from Bhatkal in Karnataka had concealed five balls containing gold paste wrapped in adhesive tape in his rectum, the release said. The balls yielded 641.41 gm of gold, it said.

The other passenger belonging to Kasaragod in Kerala was found concealing gold in paste form in his underwear with a special pouch, the release said. The gold weighed 646.67 gm, it said.

The total value of the precious metal seized was Rs 67 lakh, the release said.

It is suspected that the two persons are part of a gang which has strong links in the UAE, the officials said.

With the easing of lockdown restrictions and the resuming of international flights, the number of cases of gold-smuggling is on the rise, the release added.