Kasaragod man caught with gold worth Rs 20 lakh at Mangaluru airport

Mangaluru: Customs officials seized gold worth Rs 20.62 lakh from a passenger from Kasaragod on his arrival from Dubai at Mangaluru International Airport on Thursday.

The passenger has been identified as Noufal Kunnul Mohammed (25) of Bekal Fort.

Mohammed, who works in a juice shop in Dubai, was coming for his cousin's wedding. "He agreed to be a carrier for a free ticket and Rs 10,000," said the airport's customs superintendent Manoj Kumar.

Mohammed allegedly tried to smuggle in the gold, weighing 380g, in paste form. The gold in paste form was hidden in a packet and taped to his slippers. "The scanners missed him but the customs officials called him out because he fitted into the profile (of carriers)," said Manoj Kumar. The passenger was returning after six months. He was released after the gold was impounded.

On December 17, the customs officials seized 232g of gold worth Rs 12.53 lakh from Hussain Amin of Adukathbail in Kasaragod town. He was caught when he landed at Mangaluru airport from Dubai.

Hussain tried to smuggle in the gold as foil paper. "He had used foil to wrap children's toys, stationery items, LED bulbs, and inside paper carry bags. He used carbon paper to hide the foil but they showed up on the scanner," said the officer.

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