VISAKHAPATNAM/CHENNAI: It literally rained gold at the sleepy Visakhapatnam airport late on Sunday night and early Monday morning. In one of the biggest ever-gold hauls in the country, around 63kg of the yellow metal, worth about Rs 17 crore, was confiscated by sleuths of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Chennai, from 56 passengers, all hailing from Tamil Nadu.
A press release by DRI said: "All the 56 passengers travelling on Air Asia flight AK-83 and Malindo Air OD-251 from Kuala Lumpur as well as SilkAir flight MI-442 from Singapore were identified for interception and recovery of smuggled gold. The first flight of Air Asia arrived at 9.10 pm followed by Silk Air at 10.05 pm and Malindo Air at 11 pm."
DRI officials said the passengers, who arrived by three flights from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore between 9pm and 11pm on Sunday, could be part of one big racket. Most of the gold was concealed in electronic goods such as LCD TVs, microwaves and DVD players.
DRI officials from Chennai reached Visakhapatnam airport after receiving information that people from Tamil Nadu are landing there with gold. "Many of the detained persons were frequent fliers and known couriers of contraband. There are also a few first-timers in this group," said an official.
A press release by DRI said: "All the 56 passengers travelling on Air Asia flight AK-83 and Malindo Air OD-251 from Kuala Lumpur as well as SilkAir flight MI-442 from Singapore were identified for interception and recovery of smuggled gold. The first flight of Air Asia arrived at 9.10 pm followed by Silk Air at 10.05 pm and Malindo Air at 11 pm."
Taking advantage of the rush (due to three international flights landing in quick succession), the smugglers were trying to evade customs but were intercepted when they were collecting their luggage. "Gold in various shapes, resembling parts of electronic goods like magnets, amplifiers, speaker stands and central pulley of washing machines were found," the DRI release said.
"These people are mere carriers and their job ends with handing over the gold to someone outside the airport. They indulge in such business for monetary considerations. Depending upon the quantity he/she is carrying, the carrier gets paid," said a DRI official.
As to why such a small airport was used, the official said, "Couriers always look for new avenues and new destinations. With new flights being introduced between Visakhapatnam and Southeast Asian destinations and the frequency of flights being increased, couriers may have been attracted to switch over to this airport, away from their home." Customs officials at Chennai and other airports in Tamil Nadu have increased surveillance following a spate of gold seizures.
Customs department officials at the airport said the amount of seized gold could increase further as the detainees were still being interrogated. All the arrested passengers will be taken to Chennai for further interrogation on Tuesday.
Since international flights started landing in Visakhapatnam, gold smuggling has become a frequent affair. This is the third time in June that the precious metal has been seized at the airport. On June 2 and June 8, a total of 4.2 kg gold was seized. In the first instance, seven passengers arrived by an Air India flight from Dubai via Hyderabad carrying gold concealed inside their bodies. In the second, the carriers were two women passengers from Dubai, also on an Air India flight via Hyderabad.
Officers from DRI Chennai, DRI Visakhapatnam and DRI Hyderabad and select officers from the Visakhapatnam customs commissionerate were part of the special team that conducted the operation that began on Sunday night and continued till Monday evening.