Odisha: Gold seized at Bhubaneswar airport again

Bhubaneswar: The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Odisha capital today detained a person carrying around 700 grams of gold items worth Rs 20 lakh.

Sources at the airport said this was the eighth seizure of smuggled gold within a fortnight.

The Customs officials found the man was hiding the gold in his mixer grinder.

The passenger was coming in an Air India flight from Bangkok. When he landed, his movement raised suspicion among the personnel of Customs, Air Intelligence Wing, and they detained him. On frisking his body and checking his baggage, the Customs sleuths found the gold kept in the mixer grinder which he was bringing from Bangkok, the source added.

Notably, on March 27 and 28, gold weighing 1.2 kg and 378 grams were seized by the officials at the arrival lounge of the international flights from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

The gold smuggling via the BPIA has increased since the Bhubaneswar airport has started international operations recently.