The man allegedly was carrying the gold in a bag when he was arrested from Terminal 1-D. According to the sources, the accused is part of a Karol Bagh-based hawala racket. Sources have not ruled out the possibility of the hawala money being used in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.
According to sources, the accused was on board an Indigo flight from Kolkata to Delhi and was carrying the gold with him. 'How he managed to carry such huge amount of gold with him and went undetected by Kolkata airport authorities still remains a question,' said a source upon condition of anonymity. Earlier on 5 March, DRI arrested a person who was coming from Kabul by air and was carrying approximately 2.5 kg of gold worth Rs 75 lakh.
In another large capture of gold from the airport, the DRI on 1 Febuary arrested 27 passengers who were trying to smuggle in over 15 kg of gold inside their bodies. The airport sources said since the restrictions were imposed on the import of gold, smuggling has gone up considerably. DRI had highlighted that, in a breakaway from the past, the consignments are carried by multiple carriers to minor airports to facilitate easy passage, thereby minimising the risk of the entire stock being seized in one go. There have also been cases when gold was found concealed under seats or inside bags on international flights that operate between domestic destinations.
At major airports, approximately 200 kg was smuggled in by concealing it inside the aircraft itself, possibly with the help of airline officials. According to data released by the ministry of finance, the projected demand of 1,000 tonnes of gold for this financial year has now been revised to 850 tonnes.
According to the DRI note last year, out of 650 kg of gold seized, almost 250 kg was captured from minor airports with relatively low surveillance.
According to sources, the accused was on board an Indigo flight from Kolkata to Delhi and was carrying the gold with him. 'How he managed to carry such huge amount of gold with him and went undetected by Kolkata airport authorities still remains a question,' said a source upon condition of anonymity. Earlier on 5 March, DRI arrested a person who was coming from Kabul by air and was carrying approximately 2.5 kg of gold worth Rs 75 lakh.
In another large capture of gold from the airport, the DRI on 1 Febuary arrested 27 passengers who were trying to smuggle in over 15 kg of gold inside their bodies. The airport sources said since the restrictions were imposed on the import of gold, smuggling has gone up considerably. DRI had highlighted that, in a breakaway from the past, the consignments are carried by multiple carriers to minor airports to facilitate easy passage, thereby minimising the risk of the entire stock being seized in one go. There have also been cases when gold was found concealed under seats or inside bags on international flights that operate between domestic destinations.
At major airports, approximately 200 kg was smuggled in by concealing it inside the aircraft itself, possibly with the help of airline officials. According to data released by the ministry of finance, the projected demand of 1,000 tonnes of gold for this financial year has now been revised to 850 tonnes.
According to the DRI note last year, out of 650 kg of gold seized, almost 250 kg was captured from minor airports with relatively low surveillance.