The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence officers on Wednesday seized over 30 kilograms of gold from 130 passengers at Tiruchirappalli International Airport upon their arrival from various destinations, officials said.
Acting on a specific information that a large number of "passenger carriers" were smuggling gold into India through the Tiruchirappalli airport, the DRI officers from Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Coimbatore, Tuticorin and Madurai conducted a massive joint operation on the intervening night of November 5 and 6, they said.
As many as 130 passengers, who arrived from places like Dubai, Sharjah, Malaysia and Singapore, were profiled and intercepted, an official release said.
"The passengers were found to be carrying over 30 kilograms of gold in various forms including jewellery, crude bits, paste form mostly on their person and by body concealment," the release said.
Besides the precious metal, the officials seized electronic goods including iPhones, drones and other goods in commercial quantities from the passengers, the release said, adding an investigation is on.
Despite repeated attempts, the DRI officials did not reveal the value of the gold seized and also whether the passengers were arrested or detained.
Pen Refills, Gold Dust In Wax, Gold Rods In Body: Creative Smugglers Busted 4 Kg Smuggled Gold Worth Rs 2.9 Crore In Hyderabad-Bound Bus Seized, 2 Arrested Over 9 Kg Gold Worth Rs 6.29 Crore Seized At Bengaluru Airport "Someone Must Have Doubted...": Doctor On Trainee IAS Officer's Disability Claim Trump's Vice President Pick Reveals How His Hindu Wife Helped Him Trainee IAS Officer Puja Khedkar Called Cops Home, Spoke For 2 Hours Jaro Education Works Closely With Senior Executives From Corporates To Build Future Leaders "He'll Never Come Home": Captain Thapa, Killed In J&K Encounter, Remembered Engineer Stole NEET Paper From Exam Body's Trunk, Arrested By CBI: Sources Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.