Customs seize 110 kg gold at Delhi airport till October

At least 110 kg of gold has been seized from smugglers at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi from January till October this year, a senior customs official said on Sunday. Though the number of gold smuggling cases registered this year by the customs is slightly more than last year's figure, the quantity of gold seized is 78 kg less compared to the total seizure made in 2016, the official said.

Representational Picture

The official credited demonetisation for the decline in smuggling of gold. A total of 114 cases of smuggling were registered by the customs between January and October at the airport, he said.

In these cases, 110 kg of gold, valued at about Rs 37 crore, was seized, the official said, adding that 62 smugglers were arrested in these cases for their alleged involvement in the illegal ferrying of the yellow metal. In 2016, 110 cases were registered by the customs in which a whopping 188 kg gold, valued at Rs 48 crore, was seized, he said.