Chennai: In separate cases, over three kg gold worth Rs 98.32 lakh was seized Tuesday at the Anna International Airport here.
A customs release said 53-year-old Masthan Khan, a native of Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh was found in possession of gold weighing 1.7 kg worth Rs 55 lakh when he arrived here from Kuwait through Goa.
On being questioned, Khan said he retrieved the gold from the tissue paper compartment in the toilet in the rear side of the flight in which he travelled, the release said. He has been arrested.
In the other case, three passengers – Mohammad Fazizd of Chennai, Sheik Hussain Ashraf Ali (Tiruchirappalli) and Ismail Sheik Dawood (Sivaganga) – were caught carrying gold weighing 1.34 kg worth Rs 43.32 lakh.
The trio arrived from Kuala Lumpur smuggling the gold in the form of hollow rods and strips in their check-in baggage by concealing it inside 11 ceiling fan motors, the release said.