CHENNAI: In the backdrop of the arrest of the owner and staff of a shop in Chennai Airport which Customs found to be a front for gold smuggling, officials are now focusing attention on the owners and staff of two other shops inside the airport premises that vacated much before the 267 kg gold smuggling case came to light.

Customs sources said that the staff at both these shops -- one selling shoes and another selling silk products -- were caught with smuggled gold from transit passengers and were booked and let off. While the Customs officials did not think much of the incidents then, the stores shut shop after the staff got apprehended, sources said.

With the arrest of YouTuber Sabir Ali, who ran the souvenir store in the Airport to aid gold smuggling, and his staff, trained to smuggle out gold, Customs officers are investigating whether the two other stores were also involved in similar rackets.

Last Saturday, customs officials busted the smuggling racket that smuggled out gold worth Rs 167 crore in the previous two months. Nine persons including a transit passenger were arrested. Subsequently, Customs officials conducted searches at officials of AAI (Airports Authority of India) and personnel with Vidvedaa PRG –– Chennai Airport’s official concessionaire.