<![CDATA[The Customs officers at the Coimbatore International Airport on Monday detained a passenger who attempted to smuggle around 878.21g of gold in powder form by concealing the same using fake bandages around his ankles. Abdul Kareem, 38, from Nilambur in Malappuram district of Kerala, landed in custody of the Customs on arrival here from Sharjah in an Air Arabia flight at 4.30 a.m. During a routine checking, the Customs team found two bandages fastened around the passenger’s both ankles. When a detailed interrogation was conducted, the passenger confessed to his attempt to smuggle gold in powder form. The powdered gold was mixed with the semi-solid chemical paste tied around the ankles using cotton bandage. A goldsmith was employed to separate the gold powder from the chemical mix. The semi-solid mixture weighed 2.23 kg and 878.21 g of gold was separated after removing the impurities. The Customs officials said that the seized gold was valued at Rs. 26,34,630 as per market price. Kareem was running a cleaning service firm based at Dubai for the past three years, the officials told. They added that Kareem was a first time offender and the gold he attempted to smuggle was his own. He had purchased it from Dubai. The seizure was effected by a team headed by Assistant Commissioner of Customs Mr.Roy Joseph, Superintendents Mr.Sreenivasan Venkatesan, Mr.H. Jayaraj, inspectors Mr.Anil K. Pandey, Mr.Rajnish Mishra, Mr.Rohit Singh and Head Havildars Mr.Thangaiyan and Mr. Mahendran. As a passenger who used a similar method was recently detained in Bengaluru airport, the Customs officers could easily figure out the technique implemented by the passenger. A case has been registered against the passenger under provisions of the Customs Act as the value of the seized gold crossed Rs. 20 lakh. He was eligible to be released on the strength of two sureties and payment of ₹ 25,000 by each surety.]]>
