Trader wearing Rs 30-lakh gold held at Chandigarh airport

Chandigarh, Jan 15,A man from Punjab was arrested at the Chandigarh International Airport on Saturday by customs officials for carrying gold worth Rs 30 lakh on himself. The man, who is a trader from Patiala town — 60 km from here, had arrived here by the Dubai-Chandigarh flight. He was wearing a 700-gram gold chain and a 233-gram bracelet. The customs officials also recovered a 116-gram gold biscuit and 10-gram gold coin from his wallet. They said the net worth of the gold recovered from him was around Rs 30 lakh. According to the officials, the trader, aged around 35 years, crossed the green channel without declaring the gold. But the officials got suspicious as he was anxious while crossing the green channel. He was confronted near the baggage claim area and a search led to the gold recovery. “He had hidden the gold chain and bracelet under his winter clothes but acted in a suspicious fashion. We questioned him and made the recovery,” one official said. The Dubai-Chandigarh circuit has seen a spurt in gold smuggling in the recent months, with customs officials recovering gold worth crores of rupees.