It seems gold smugglers have now made the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar their preferred route for illegal ferrying of the precious yellow metal and opting for innovative ways to give a slip to the Customs sleuths.
In almost a daily incident, Customs Department officials on Sunday seized 180 gram of gold worth Rs 5.66 lakh from a passenger at the airport.
This was the fourth instance of seizure of gold at the airport in the past seven days. Acting on a tipoff, the Customs officials at the airport intercepted a businessman, who arrived from Bangkok, and seized the precious metal in the form of a bangle from his possession.
Earlier on Saturday, two persons had been detained at the airport for carrying gold and silver jewelleries worth over Rs 9 lakh. The department officials on Thursday had also seized gold biscuits weighing 1.2 kg and worth Rs 34.90 lakh from two Indian passengers from Dubai.
On March 28, three gold bars and 143 gold rings worth over Rs 12 lakh had been seized from two passengers hailing from Maharashtra who were returning from Bangkok.
Notably, gold and other valuables worth over Rs 1 crore have been seized at the airport by Customs officials in the past five months.