Three youths arrested with two kg of gold at Thiruvananthapuram airport

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Three youths were arrested at Thiruvananthapuram airport for trying to smuggle more than two kilos of gold from abroad.Seiyadali (40), a resident of Beemapally, Thiruvananthapuram, Shinas (22), a resident of Mavelikkara, and Riaz Ahmed (30), a resident of Trishnappally, Tamil Nadu, were arrested by Air Customs in separate incidents. Gold worth one crore and twenty lakh rupees were seized from them.

Riyaz Ahmed and Seiyadali came on the Emirates Airlines that arrived in Thiruvananthapuram from Dubai yesterday morning. Riaz tried to smuggle 962.22 grams of gold into his stomach by swallowing it into balls. Seiyadali tried to smuggle 170.18 grams of gold in a roll of measuring tape. It was during their inspection that Shinaz was caught with 870.4 3 grams of gold on the Air India Express flight from Sharjah. He tried to smuggle it by swallowing it in the form of three capsules. The gold was retrieved from Riyas and Shinas with medical help.

The authorities stated that the accused are carriers of gold smuggling gangs and are being interrogated further. The arrest of Shinas and Riaz was recorded. However, Seiyadali was granted bail since the smuggled gold was in small quantity. Gold smuggling through Thiruvananthapuram airport has increased as security has been strengthened at other airports in the state. The inspection was tightened following the warning from the Central Intelligence Agency. They were arrested under the leadership of Air Customs Intelligence Assistant Commissioner AM Nandakumar.