CHENNAI: The Customs officials on Sunday arrested five passengers, including two women, for smuggling 2.5 kg of gold worth Rs 2.8 crore from Kuala Lumpur.

The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) kept a close vigil on passengers arriving from Malaysia on Sunday night based on a tip-off. The officers noticed that a group of five passengers were nervous and tense.

Soon, the group was intercepted and their belongings were taken for a search, but nothing unusual was found.

Later, they were taken for a personal search when the officers found gold bits weighing about 2.5 kg hidden inside the clothes of one of the two women passengers.

During the investigation, it was revealed that four of the accused, two women and two men, are known gold couriers who have been involved in multiple smuggling operations in the past.

To avoid detection this time, they recruited a first-time smuggler, a young woman from Thanjavur, to carry the gold, while the others travelled alongside her on the same flight without carrying contraband. All five have been arrested under the Customs Act, and the agencies are investigating further.