Flyer, airport employee nabbed with 1 kg gold in Amritsar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 15

The Customs Department has seized 1 kg gold being smuggled illegally by a passenger in connivance with a ground staff member at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport here.

According to information, a passenger who arrived by Air India Express Flight (IX-192) from Dubai on May 14 was intercepted by the Customs officers while he was exiting the green channel.

During search of the baggage, a gold bar weighting 587 gm, with the market value of Rs 31 lakh, was found concealed in the shoulder bag.

On further questioning, the accused admitted he was carrying two gold bars, weighing 1 kg. The second bar was handed over to one of the ground staff members at the aerobridge, he claimed. He was directed to hand over the gold to a staffer, who would approach him with a secret code.

Customs officials said the CCTV footage was scanned and the staffer was identified by the passenger. The staffer, who works as an aerobridge operator, was questioned. He was employed by the company having the contract for aerobridge operations.

During investigation, the staffer admitted to having smuggled gold on several occasions over the past one month. He was to hand over the smuggled gold to another member, who also worked as an aerobridge operator with the company.

The passenger and one of the operators had been arrested and remanded in 14-day judicial custody. Efforts were on to apprehend the second operator. Further investigations were on.

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