New Delhi:
A man was arrested with smuggled gold bars worth over Rs 1.60 crore by customs officials at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi.
48-year-old Ram Niwas Verma, who hailed from Nangloi area of the national capital, was intercepted by the officials after his arrival from Dubai in Delhi on Sunday.
"On detailed examination of his baggage and personal search, 6.42 kg gold bars were found tied in the zipper belt on his waist," said Neeta lall Butalia, Commissioner of Customs, IGIA.
The total value of the gold bars is Rs 1.67 crore, she said.
According to preliminary investigation, customs officials have found that Verma has been a frequent flier to foreign destination.
"Further investigation is on," another customs official said. It is one of the biggest seizures of gold from an individual in the past five years, he said. This is also the first big catch after the Finance Ministry had earlier this month raised import duty on gold by 2 per cent to 8 per cent in a bid to rein in demand for the yellow metal.
On June 9, customs officials had seized gold worth at least Rs 70 lakh in three separate incidents at the airport and arrested two persons for their alleged involvement in the smuggling.
In the first case, Uttar Pradesh resident Abdul Sattar was arrested for allegedly smuggling gold worth about Rs 19.64 lakh into the country.
Sattar, who hails from Khalapar in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, adopted a unique modus operandi. He was carrying TV and food processor packed in cardboard boxes, which were punched with 109 gold pins weighing 755 gm.
In another incident on the same day, 47-year-old Abdul Rahim Badshah Patel, resident of Karnataka, was arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle 1.9 kg of gold jewellery worth about Rs 38 lakh into the country.
Patel, who hails from Bhatkal in the southern state, had arrived from Dubai. He was found to be concealing gold jewellery inside knee caps tied to his legs.
In the third incident, four unclaimed gold bars, weighing about 448 gm and wrapped in yellow paper, were recovered from near the international transfer check-in area at the airport.