Hyderabad: Customer service officer intercepted for carrying gold

Hyderabad: DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence) from the State of Telangana recently intercepted a customer service officer and seized 42 pieces of gold from him. The officer working with Indigo Airlines was intercepted at the exit gate of the international arrivals by the DRI. The gold reportedly weighed around 4,891.200 grams and is valued at Rs 1,84,88,736 according to agency reports. Three people have been arrested in relation to the case.

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Cases of gold smuggling

In a similar incident, a man was caught smuggling gold worth Rs 30 lakh at the Delhi airport after his arrival from Russia. He was found with gold bars and gold wires which he concealed under his clothes. The gold had been seized with the passenger being arrested under relevant provisions of the Customs Act, according to the officials. In another instance, a man returning to India from Dubai was held for allegedly smuggling gold worth Rs 22 lakh. After he landed at the Delhi airport, he was intercepted by the customs officials for crossing the green channel. The Green channel system is for passengers not having dutiable goods, while the Red Channel indicates for the people carrying dutiable goods. An extensive baggage search revealed gold weighing around 1,200 gms which was concealed in the jeans worn by the man. The two-channel system was adopted for the purpose of customs clearance for the arriving passengers. As of the June-April quarter, customs officials have seized 1,197.7 kg of smuggled gold, which is a 23% increase than the year 2018. It is expected to rise in the coming months as India raised its import tax on gold to 12.5% in July's budget. 

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(With ANI inputs)