Man held with gold worth Rs 21 lakh.

AHMEDABAD: Gold smuggling has become rampant in the state as more and more people are being caught smuggling gold through city airport.

Customs department on Wednesday night held a man for smuggling gold worth Rs 20.8 lakh at Sardar Vallabhbhai International airport. Mundra resident Mohammad Rafique Abdullah was caught with 706 grams of gold concealed in side strips of trolley bag and stitched in quilt at city airport.

According to sources, Rafique is a first time carrier. This is the fourth such incident in this month and 25th incident of gold smuggling since January 2014.

Rafique arrived from Dubai in Spicejet flight SG-016 on Wednesday night. He was intercepted and diverted to red channel for detailed examination of his baggage. Acting on a tip-off, customs officials had detained Rafique. "Rafique had concealed gold weighing 705.58 grams in the side strips of the trolley bag in rod form and some gold was also found in the quilt in the thin strip form," a customs official said.

Customs produced Rafique at Metropolitan court on Thursday and are further investigating the case.

The Centre has imposed restrictions on gold imports since June 3 last year. The yellow metal is being smuggled into the country by various means, especially since gold is available at a cheaper rate in Dubai and Sharjah.

Earlier on Tuesday night, customs department held four people for smuggling 14 gold bars worth Rs 62.15 lakh at Sardar Vallabhbhai International airport. Mumbai-based four people, including two women, were caught with 2.08 kg of gold. Main accused Asgar Khan had hidden four gold bars in his rectum, while other accused Deepak Suhani, Savita Khithani and Heeru Sugnani had concealed another 10 gold bars in their pockets.

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com