Gold worth ₹4.27cr seized from IndiGo flight speaker box
What's the story
Customs officials at Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport have seized gold worth over ₹4.26 crore from an IndiGo flight arriving from Dubai on Friday. The gold was found hidden inside a speaker box in the aircraft's front lavatory during a search of Flight 6E-1478, India Today reported. Two pouches wrapped in black plastic tape were discovered, containing 24 foreign-origin gold biscuits weighing a total of 2,799.3gm and valued at approximately ₹4.27 crore in the local market.
Smuggling attempt
No passengers or crew members claimed ownership
The method of concealment indicated that an unidentified person had attempted to smuggle the gold into India, violating the Customs Act, 1962. No passengers or crew members claimed ownership of the consignment, leading officials to seize it as unclaimed property under relevant provisions of the act. The incident is under further investigation by authorities at Ahmedabad airport.
Recent seizures
Earlier, customs seized over 1.13 lakh sticks of cigarettes
This seizure comes just weeks after customs officials intercepted two passengers from Dubai on an Emirates flight. They seized over 1.13 lakh sticks of foreign-origin cigarettes after suspicious X-ray images flagged their checked-in baggage for inspection. A detailed examination revealed a large consignment of concealed cigarettes, including 280 boxes with 56,000 sticks of 'Mond' brand and another 286 boxes containing 57,200 sticks of 'Gudang Garam' brand.