Mangalore: Smuggling in style! Gold as belt buckle, rods in hair styler seized at airport


Mangalore: Smuggling in style! Gold as belt buckle, rods in hair styler seized at airport

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, Feb 14: The officers of customs at Mangalore International Airport on Thursday February 13 thwarted yet another attempt to smuggle gold by a passenger.

This time, the customs officers seized a gold buckle set and two gold rods totally weighing 1022.07 grams from passenger identified as Sheminadh Puthen Purayil, a resident of Kannur, Kasargod.

The gold, altogether valued at Rs 30,91,732, was in the form of a leather belt buckle set and rods concealed inside a hair styling crimper set which were found in the passenger's suitcase.

Sheminadh arrived at Mangalore International Airport from February 13 at around 7.25 am by Air India Express flight IX814 from Dubai.

As media release from the customs stated that while frisking the passenger with hand-held metal detector, the customs officer grew suspicious about the buckle set on the leather belt worn by him. The X-ray image showed the presence of high density metal. When asked if the buckle was made of gold or if he had any other item to be required to be declared to the customs, he replied in the negative, and the same was evident from the baggage disembarkation slip also.

However, on rubbing the buckle set, its coating scraped off indicating the presence of yellow metal, the release stated. Apart from this, the passenger was also found to be carrying a hair styling crimper set wherein two yellow coloured metal rods wrapped in black plastic covered were found concealed in two cylindricall tube-like parts of the hair styling set.

Later, a jewellery assayer confirmed and certified that the buckle set and the yellow coloured metal rods were made of gold.

The operation was conducted under the supervision of Krishna Kumar Prasad, assistant commissioner of customs at the airport.

The statement of the passenger was recorded, after which he was arrested and produced before the magistrate who remanded him in judicial custody.

Further investigation is in progress under the guidance of D Purushottam, commissioner of customs.

The officers of customs at Mangalore International Airport have detected several cases of smuggling of gold through various modus operandi, such as concealment of gold in the forme of wire in the beading of suitcase, in food cans, LED lights, electric stoves, shaving equipment, rechargeable battery etc. As a result the officers have seized 7618.01 grams of gold valued at Rs 2,28,25,769 in just one-and-a-half months of this year.

  

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Comment on this article

  • A.K., Kundapur

    Sun, Feb 16 2014

    Now they should reduce Airport Tax.

    DisAgree [3] Agree [2] Reply Report Abuse

  • Eric Coelho, Mangalore

    Sat, Feb 15 2014

    In one sentence we can call these gold smugglers as "Mentally sick people who need immediate treatment".

    DisAgree [5] Agree [6] Reply Report Abuse

  • mariam, mangalore

    Fri, Feb 14 2014

    Can someone tell us where is all this caught gold going to ? What is being done with this gold ? for we never, never get any information about the whereabouts of this caught gold.
    I am sure all readers are interested in knowing if someone can tell us all.

    thanks

    DisAgree [2] Agree [22] Reply Report Abuse

  • fred, mangalore

    Fri, Feb 14 2014

    MIA will be the richest- earned income through customs dept.hope the money is spend appropriately and look after the needs of the passengers/customers

    DisAgree [3] Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse

  • Peter, Mangalore

    Fri, Feb 14 2014

    Initially, when gold was seized/confiscated at the beginning i was thinking that people who brought gold are crazy and wasting their earning. But now after so many similar incidents i feel that there is something wrong which we dont see or authorities are not disclosing. Otherwise, why only in Mangalore gold is seized while we have so many international airports in india and also 3 within Kerala, why this strange thing happens in Mangalore only. Is it that the department is trying to divert public elsewhere. Moreover, why this is happening only after central govt banned import of gold. here many questions to be asked and many more to be answered. Somewhere there is grey area.

    DisAgree [6] Agree [38] Reply Report Abuse

  • R.Bhandarkar, M'lore

    Fri, Feb 14 2014

    Spot on Peter. Something is definitely fishy...and with a Capital F. Think some big fish like a 'Whale' is let off and 'sardines' caught!Think it is a very small 'net' the customs are using here.

    DisAgree [1] Agree [9] Reply Report Abuse

  • David, Mangalore

    Fri, Feb 14 2014

    Is it Mangalore Customs Reporting / Publishing all the case or some percentage ?

    DisAgree [7] Agree [17] Reply Report Abuse

  • abdulla, india

    Fri, Feb 14 2014


    This has been going for ages ,and all hand in glove conveniently and comfortably flowing in in thousands of crores .
    Its only these days, some are being exposed while still go in ...
    even till date..
    If all this money could be used to develop Mangalore it would be great..
    God knows to which account this money goes to?
    can someone explain?
    Air-india and all govt agencies are the main carriers of smuggled goods..
    how is that only now more being exposed?
    what happened till now?

    DisAgree [3] Agree [10] Reply Report Abuse

  • jossy, thokkottu

    Fri, Feb 14 2014

    Check all AMBULANCES at the respective hospitals for what reason they came to Mangalore and check when they left for Mangalore and left for other cities

    DisAgree [7] Agree [10] Reply Report Abuse

  • HENRY MISQUITH, Bahrain

    Fri, Feb 14 2014

    As long as the craze for gold amongst Indians continues, the smugglers will keep inventing new ways to smuggle this metal in India.
    India's worst tax system is the reason for smuggling. Paying tax for nothing.

    DisAgree [1] Agree [12] Reply Report Abuse

  • Vincent Rodrigues, Katapadi/Bangalore

    Fri, Feb 14 2014

    Smuggling is an art and catching them by the customs is also a skill of customs officials.Man's greed to become rich overnight leads them for all this illegal act.Hope the customs do the needful.Thanq.

    DisAgree [2] Agree [16] Reply Report Abuse

  • Praveen, Mangalore

    Fri, Feb 14 2014

    Where does all these seized gold end up ??????

    DisAgree Agree [41] Reply Report Abuse

  • Reshma, M'lore/UAE

    Fri, Feb 14 2014

    People are so dumb....buy gold in India with the same money you purchase in the Gulf..its a small difference...getting caught you lose all

    DisAgree [3] Agree [37] Reply Report Abuse

  • VEERENDRA, BELGAUM

    Fri, Feb 14 2014

    Some foreign country are refusing to pay heavy salary earned by other country's employees and take same out of the country thinking that same will affect their economic condition. Hence, to avoid that type of conditions innocent employees used by gold and try to take to their countries. This is true.

    DisAgree [4] Agree [5] Reply Report Abuse

  • dam, mangalore

    Fri, Feb 14 2014

    This is too common news in Mangalore..

    DisAgree Agree [28] Reply Report Abuse

  • Felix Gonsalves, Mangalore

    Fri, Feb 14 2014

    Whoa!! Customs Officers are really busy now-a-days!!

    Hats off to them. God bless. :)

    DisAgree [3] Agree [36] Reply Report Abuse

  • Af, mangalore

    Fri, Feb 14 2014

    One more Kasaragod Bakra.

    DisAgree [3] Agree [55] Reply Report Abuse


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