Customs officials seized 6.8 kg of smuggled gold valued at Rs 3.32 crore at the Chennai airport from two passengers, who arrived on an Air India flight from Singapore.

Customs officials said on Wednesday that they had prior information that the duo would be clandestinely bringing gold into the country.  Both of them have been arrested and investigations are on to find out the wider links involved in the smuggling network.

Chennai Customs in a tweet on Wednesday said, “Based on Intel, 2 pax who arrived from Singapore by AI-347 and 6E-52 were intercepted by Customs on 07.03.23. On search of their baggage, gold totally weighing 6.8 kg valued at ₹ 3.32 crore was recovered/ seized under the CA,1962. Pax were arrested and further investigation is on.”

The Customs duty on gold has been raised to curb gold imports as they drain the country of precious foreign exchange that is required for imports of essential goods such as oil and fertilisers. Excessive outgo of foreign exchange also sends the rupee into a downward spiral and weakens the fundamentals of the economy.

However, the flip side is that unscrupulous elements out to make a fast buck resort to smuggling because of the huge price difference in gold between India and overseas.