Chennai airport customs officials expose yet another modus operandi of smugglers

Siddharth Prabhakar| TNN | Oct 13, 2017, 20:52 IST




CHENNAI: Customs officials at Chennai airport have exposed yet another modus operandi of smugglerswhere an international traveller who brings in the goods passes them on to accomplices who join them in the domestic leg of the journey.

On Friday morning, officials of the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) intercepted two women, who were carrying concealed gold worth Rs 18 lakh and brand new gadgets like four Apple iPhone 8s, one iPad Pro and three Samsung Galaxy 8s worth Rs 4.3 lakh in their baggage.

The women have been identified as Noorjahan (39) and her daughter, Alfiya (23), who arrived here from Thiruvananthapuram on Air India flight AI 968. This flight had an international leg from Sharjah to Thiruvananthapuram.

Upon interrogation by officials, the duo confessed that the goods had been given to them by Ahamad Thahir (33) who had come from Sharjah. The ladies joined him during the domestic leg of the flight, and the goods were to be brought by them as they could evade customs duty at the Chennai airport. The transfer was made inside the flight.

Customs officials grew suspicious when they noticed that one woman was carrying a brand new iPad in her hand and was passing through the green channel without declaring it. They were then searched thoroughly when the other gadgets and the concealed gold were found.

The gold was in the form of two chains of 24 carat purity and was concealed inside the clothes.

A case was filed against the trio under the Customs Act 1962. They were arrested.