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PCO owner, passenger smuggling gold in cigarette packet, held

The gold bar worth Rs 40 lakh was concealed in a cigarette pack and was to be transported out of the airport building by the PCO owner who used to operate a phone booth at the airport, says Officer

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Man who was smuggling the gold; Inset: Box in which the gold was carried
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A PCO owner was held at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday for allegedly receiving illegally smuggled gold from a passenger inside the terminal. Officers said that the gold bar worth Rs 40 lakh was concealed in a cigarette pack and was to be transported out of the airport building by the PCO owner who used to operate a phone booth at the airport.

"The man was kept under surveillance and his movements were recorded through CCTV cameras. It was around 6:11 pm that Himanshu was spotted receiving something near the arrival baggage belt number eight from a passenger who had just arrived from Dubai by flight number IX-142. On being informed about this, surveillance and intelligence staff intercepted the telecom operator employee and upon frisking him they found gold weighing 1.37 kg, concealed in a cigarette packet," a senior CISF officer said.

Based on inputs from the staff member, the passenger who had handed over the gold bar and moved towards the immigration area, was also held. He was identified as Ashok Kumar Kumawat, a resident of Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan. "Customs was informed about the matter and the men along with the recovered gold were handed over to them for further investigation," the officer said.

According to recent data, 1,330.88 kg of gold has been recovered from various airports across the country in 2017. The total amount of the gold was worth Rs 335 crore. Furthermore, 527.07 kg of silver worth Rs 2.07 crore and cash worth Rs 15.68 crore has also been recovered at airports.

Officials disclosed that other valuables recovered by the CISF in 2017 includes 970 mobile phones, 618 laptops, 670 wallets and purses, 70 passports, important documents, etc. The total number of valuables recovered from the airport was 4,758 and their monetary value was estimated at Rs 4.08 crore.

SEIZED...

  • The gold bar being smuggled is worth Rs 40 lakh. 
     
  • 1,330.88 kg gold has been recovered from various airports across the country in 2017.
     
  • 618 laptops, 670 wallets and purses, 70 passports were also recovered in 2017
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