CHENNAI: A 42-year-old man, suspected to be a prolific gold smuggler, was nabbed at the Chennai airport with 1.60 kg of pure 24-carat gold paste, worth approximately Rs 2.30 crore, which he was trying to smuggle from Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence received a tip-off that a large quantity of gold was being smuggled from the United Arab Emirates, following which, officials kept a close watch at the airport on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, Rajeev Ibrahim Shah (42), a passenger who landed by Abu Dhabi, completed all the mandatory checks and exited through the green channel, declaring that he had no goods to declare for customs duty.

When the officials intercepted Shah and questioned him on suspicion, he argued with them, questioning why he was being stopped again after completing all the formalities. Undeterred by his antics, the officials took Shah away to question him and check his hand baggage.

During the search, the officials found a parcel wrapped in black paper inside the bag. Inside, they discovered 1.60 kg of 24-carat gold paste, valued at Rs 2.30 crore.

The officials arrested Shah and seized the gold paste. He was taken to the DRI office in T Nagar, where further interrogation is under way to identify the people involved in the smuggling operation and the network operating behind him.

When they examined his passport, the officials found that he had previously travelled to Chennai by air from several countries, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Kuwait, Singapore, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka.

Following this, the DRI is investigating whether he had previously smuggled gold paste from foreign countries in a similar manner, and whether he is part of an international gold smuggling syndicate.