Chennai:
21 kilograms of gold concealed in a mobile phone consignment from Hong Kong was seized by revenue intelligence officials in Chennai today.
21 gold bars, worth 6.5 crore rupees, arrived on a KLM Cargo plane from Hong Kong, a senior official told NDTV. "The boxes containing the bars were masquerading as mobile phone cartons neatly placed between boxes that carried Chinese mobile phones," he added.
The department has reportedly identified the importer and is investigating the case further.
Yesterday, addressing tax officials on Customs Day, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said that about 1-3 tonnes (1000-3000kgs) of gold is smuggled into the country every month following the restrictions imposed on shipment last year.
However, he added, "I know gold smuggling has increased...But the restrictions on gold import were absolutely necessary because it is these restrictions which have brought down gold import which in April and May had crossed 300 tonnes."