2.8 kg gold found under passengers’ seat on flight

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Customs officials from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport unearthed 2.8 kg gold packed and hidden under a passenger seat in one of the flights that landed in the city from Dubai. The investigating officials suspect that the gold might have been placed under the seat deliberately by the smugglers so that it could be taken away at a later point of time by someone from their gang.

As the IndiGo flight from UAE landed at the international airport on Tuesday at 10am, the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) sleuths were alerted about an unidentified object that had been fixed under one of the passengers’ seats using a duct tape. Sources said that there were two solid bar-like objects which were detached by the officials. When they unwrapped it, the officials found 24 gold biscuits in total that weighed 2800 grams.

The customs officials suspect it was a plot by the smugglers to supply the gold to another gang operating in the country. They said that the gang operating here might have planned to take the gold after the flight switched its service from international to domestic.

The officials have launched a probe to identify the accused in this case. The officials have procured the list of passengers on the flight.