Three air passengers arrested for smuggling saffron, gold from Dubai

As they were keeping vigil on the passengers who landed here from abroad on Wednesday, the Customs officers part of the Air Intelligence Unit noticed a young man who had arrived from Dubai through Muscat by an Oman Air flight roaming inside the arrival hall in a suspicious manner. They became even more suspicious when he collected his checked-in luggage from the belt and began running towards the exit.

The team of officers intercepted the man near the exit, identified as Mohamed Javid Mushar, a 22-year-old from Nagapattinam. When they opened his bags, the officers found saffron packets of Iranian origin concealed inside. The saffron, from the brand Termes, was in pouches of 25 gm each, totally weighing 26.5 kg, said a statement from the Customs Commissioner on Sunday. Its total value has been estimated to be Rs 63.60 lakh. The saffron was seized under Customs Act, 1962, and Mushar was arrested.

On Sunday, based on a specific tip-off, the Customs stopped Ameer Thekkulla Kandy (41) from Ekarool, and Haroon Nahar Moyath (29) from Kozhikode, both in Kerala. They had arrived from Dubai by an Emirates flight.

When they were searched, the officers found gold in the form of rubbery spread concealed inside the waistband of their pants.

After extraction, the Customs recovered 1.82 kg gold, valued at Rs 71.5 lakh, which was later seized under Customs Act 1962. Ameer and Haroon were arrested, the statement from the Commissioner added.