Maiden gold haul at new Kannur airport

Maiden gold haul at new Kannur airport
The Kannur International Airport Limited (KIAL).

Kannur: The first smuggling attempt at the Kannur International Airport Limited (KIAL) has been foiled as the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence seized 2 kg gold from a passenger who flew in from Abu Dhabi on an Air India Express flight. The value of the seized gold runs into millions of rupees.

The man in custody has been identified as Muhammad Shan, who hails from Pinarayi in the district. He is being interrogated. People waiting in a car at the airport to take delivery of the consignment were also taken into custody.

The gold was concealed in an electric pan that is used to make Kerala's delicious unniyappams. It was hidden in its heating coil and plate.

The airport was inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Union minister Suresh Prabhu jointly on December 9.

The Kannur airport is the fourth international airport in the state, the others being in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode.

×

Kerala has always been a preferred destination for gold smugglers who put to use its porous airports. Several cases of gold smuggling were reported from the Kochi and Kozhikode airports in the recent times.

Read more: Latest Kerala news

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Onmanorama. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.