Woman held for smuggling gold worth Rs 16 lakh

PUNE: Officers of Customs Department at Pune International Airport in Lohegaon on Sunday nabbed a woman from Mumbai for allegedly smuggling 541.48 gm gold valued at Rs 16.38 lakh and two boxes of Gudang Garam cigarettes worth Rs 10,000. 

According to the Customs Department, the accused woman, identified as Varsha, arrived here from Dubai on Sunday morning. During personal search of the passenger,  two heavy gold anklets coated with white colour, one gold chain, three buttons concealed in jeans pant and two boxes of Gudang Garam cigarettes were recovered from her possession. 

“The gold recovered from the passenger was seized under the reasonable belief that the same was attempted to be smuggled in India and hence liable for confiscation under provisions of the Customs Act. In her statement recorded, the passenger admitted possession, carriage, concealment and recovery of the gold under seizure,” Customs officers said.