Goa: Woman carrying gold paste worth over Rs. 18 lakh held at airport

PANAJI: A woman allegedly carrying gold paste worth over Rs. 18 lakh was arrested at the Goa airport on Monday, a senior customs official said.

The Customs Commissioner R Manohar stated that the woman who is a foreign national whose identity and nationality was not disclosed, had kept the yellow metal hidden in a pocket of her pants.

Acting on the intelligence inputs, the woman was arrested by the officials after she landed at the Dabolim International Airport in Panaji from Dubai, aboard an Air India flight.

The official said that they seized over 600 grams of semi-solid gold, valued at Rs. 18.08 lakh during the search adding that the gold paste was kept in a transparent polythene packet, concealed in a pocket specially created for the purpose.

Earlier last year, the Goa customs had seized 995 grams of gold worth Rs.28.62 lakhs from an Air India passenger who landed at Goa International Airport.