Vasco: Customs officials seized 300 gram gold foil worth Rs 7.20 lakh from an international passenger at Dabolim international airport on Wednesday.
According to information, customs officials intercepted one Asif Mouval Kanhangad, a native of Kasaragod district in Kerala, who had come from Dubai in an Air India flight (994).
“The passenger was carrying gold molded in the form of foil and had concealed the same in a trolley bag. The gold was seized under Section 110 of the Custom Act 1962, with the reasonable belief that the same was being smuggled and is liable for confiscation under Section 111 of the Custom Act,” said a custom official.
Incidentally, according to information obtained from Goa Customs, over 31 cases of gold smuggling have been booked and 14 people have been arrested at Dabolim airport from January till date. A total of 58.993 kilograms of gold worth Rs 14.47 crore was seized by custom officials.
As gold smuggling is at its peak this year, the customs department had begun to keep a stricter vigil on passengers coming from the Gulf and other sensitive destinations, and in return, it was able to achieve higher success this year.
