Thiruvananthapuram/Chennai:
Customs officials today seized gold weighing 5.3 kg and valued at over Rs 1.25 crore being smuggled into the country and took into custody 10 persons at two airports.
Around 3.5 kg of gold bars was seized from eight passengers who arrived from Singapore in Thiruvananthapuram airport, while customs officials at Chennai airport recovered 1.8 kilograms gold biscuits from two passengers, including a Sri Lankan national, official sources said.
The contraband seized at Thiruvananthapuram and valued around Rs one crore was concealed under shawls, they said.
The eight passengers, who were arrested, hailed from Pudukotai and Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu who had gone on a tour to Singapore.
Investigation was on to ascertain whether these persons were carrying the gold for some other persons, they said.
Security and checking has been tightened at the airport in view of the gold smuggling case also involving customs officials at Nedumbassery Airport in Kochi came to light recently.
In Chennai, Mohammad Nawas, a Sri Lankan national, was arrested after he attempted to pass through customs carrying undeclared gold weighing 800 grams after arriving from Colombo.
Later, they arrested another person who arrived in a flight from Singapore via Tiruchirapalli after it was found that he was carrying one kg of gold biscuits.