MP: Man nabbed at airport with smuggled gold worth lakhs

A 36-year-old man travelling from Dubai was arrested at Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport in Indore for allegedly smuggling 696 gm of gold hidden inside a hammer, an official said on Thursday. The smuggled metal is worth Rs 30 lakh as per the current market rate, he added.

Air India's Dubai-Indore flight (AI 904) landed at the airport in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, Customs Department's joint commissioner Devesh Gupta said. Officials intercepted a passenger who was carrying a hammer weighing 1.4 kg in his luggage, he said.

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When questioned about the presence of the hammer, the accused, hailing from Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow city, claimed that he was a labourer, he said

"Our officers cut the hammer with a saw and found a yellow layer and on cutting further, they discovered a hollow space in which 696 gm of gold was hidden," Gupta said.

The customs department is probing the involvement of an international smuggling racket in this case, he added.

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