Customs officials at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport discovered more than five kilograms of gold, valued at over Rs 3 crore, hidden in the lavatory of an IndiGo flight, an official revealed on Tuesday.
The discovery was made during a routine inspection of flight number 6E-301 from Mumbai to Delhi on May 31.
Customs officers found an unclaimed black rubber piece wrapped in red adhesive tape inside the rear lavatory of the aircraft, suspected to contain gold or metal items.
Joint Commissioner of Customs, N. Varun Koundinya, disclosed, "The unclaimed rubber piece, weighing 6058 grams including the concealment material, was examined. Upon opening it, six yellow/gold metal rectangular bars were discovered, weighing 5999 grams in total."
Koundinya further stated, "The total tariff value of the recovered gold bars is Rs 3,83,62,380."
The gold was seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962, as officials had reason to believe it was illegally imported into India with the intent to smuggle it without paying customs duty.
Consequently, it is liable for confiscation under Section 111 of the Customs Act, 1962. No individual has come forward to claim ownership of the seized gold.
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