Mangaluru: A young man was arrested by the officials Mangaluru Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) after they found him attempting to smuggle gold worth Rs. 39 lakh from Dubai on 30th January, Tuesday.
The arrested accused has been identified as Ahmed Nabeel Gaffoor (21), a resident of Kasargod, who arrived from Dubai by SpiceJet flight SG-60 on Tuesday.
According to sources, the DRI mounted surveillance at the Mangalore International Airport after receiving a tip off that a passenger on the Spice jet aircraft from Dubai is smuggling gold. Upon the aircraft’s arrival, DRI officers identified Gaffoor and intercepted him right at the aircraft door and escorted him to customs arrival area.
After checking, they found that he was carrying 11 gold tola bars concealed in a mobile phone pouch using black/silver adhesive tapes in order to avoid detection. The gold pieces weighed 1m282 grams in total and were valued at Rs. 39 lakh.
The contraband gold which was found to be of 24 carat purity was seized by the DRI officials under provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 and Ahmed was arrested for attempting to smuggle gold bars into the country.
A case has been registered and further investigations are being conducted.