CHENNAI: Customs officials have busted a smuggling racket that operated right under their noses in the City airport and managed to smuggle out 267 kg of gold worth Rs 167 crore in the last two months alone.
Nine persons including a transit passenger and the owner and staff of a store inside the airport were arrested by the customs.
A few days ago, the air intelligence unit of the customs department had intercepted a staff of the shop on suspicion and after a personal search, the customs officials found gold in paste form, concealed in his rectum. Investigations revealed that he had obtained the gold from a transit passenger from Sri Lanka.
Further investigations revealed that it was not a one-off incident and a larger network involving transit passengers and the owners and the staff of a shop inside the airport was unearthed.
Further inquiry revealed that smugglers based in Sri Lanka had rented the Airhub shop in the International Departure of Anna International Airport through Sabir Ali who is an YouTuber, who had entered into a contract with M/s. Vidvedaa PRG, the agency engaged by Airports Authority of India (AAI) to rent space inside the airport.
The shop was just a front, but the actual business was to receive the smuggled gold from transit passengers and pass them over to the receivers outside the airport.
"The transit passenger, who handed over the gold, along with the shop owner and other staff of the shop, were arrested, remanded and sent to judicial custody. Further investigation is under process, " an official release stated.