Officials at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), Bengaluru have reportedly seized nearly 13 kilograms of gold on two separate occasions.
Acting on a tip-off, officials from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Saturday boarded an Indigo flight that landed at KIA Bengaluru. On inspection, they came across an oddly sealed packet inside a life jacket in the empty flight.
After further inspection, the DRI found 14 gold biscuits, weighing a little over 3 kilograms concealed inside the unusual packet. The gold biscuits have been estimated to be worth around Rs 1.05 crore. Officials speculate that a person on the inside may have been involved and that this person supposed to pick up the packet allegedly 'left' behind by one of the passengers.
On another occasion, the customs department officials seized 92 gold biscuits, each weighing 100 grams on Sunday from a Singapore Airlines flight SQ502. The seized gold is estimated to be worth around Rs 3.02 crore in total,. The biscuits were concealed within the speakers inside one of the passenger's bag which were then masked with black tape. An unclaimed black bag, which had been checked-in, remained on the conveyor belt, leading the authorities to become suspicious about its contents. A scan of the bag's contents revealed the presence of the gold biscuits inside.
On further investigation, they have traced Noorulayne, the owner of the bag and a Singapore national.
A lookout notice for Noorulayne has been given to all immigration officials.
