Chennai: A Sri Lankan national and an AI Airport Services Limited staffer were held at the Chennai Airport by CISF officers for allegedly smuggling 3.9 kg gold in paste form worth Rs 2 crore, an official said on Tuesday.
A CISF official said that on Tuesday at around 3 p.m they noticed the suspicious activities of an AAISL staffer later identified as Sanjay D who was moving towards International Boarding Gate No. 9A from the washroom located in the boarding gate area.
“On strong suspicion, CISF personnel intercepted the AAISL staffer and he was brought to the Security Hold Area for checking. On physical checking four oval shaped, four rectangular shaped and three plastic packets containing 3.9 kg gold in paste form were detected, concealed in his undergarment,” said the official.
The official said that on questioning, the staffer confessed that he received the gold in paste form from an international transit passenger who handed over the gold to him in the washroom.
On checking the CCTV footage the passenger was identified as Mohamed Nisthar Aboosaly, a Sri Lankan national. He had arrived at the airport from Dubai on an Indigo flight.
He was due to travel to Colombo on Wednesday on an Indigo flight. He too was intercepted by the CISF personnel. The matter was reported to the customs and senior officers.
Later, the passenger and the AAISL staffer along with the recovered gold were handed over to customs officials
—IANS