Chennai: The delay in the arrival of a flight from Singapore due to the inclement weather in Chennai led to the seizure of 2.2 kg of 24-karat gold worth 3.15 crore hidden under a passenger seat, which would have otherwise safely landed in the hands of the smuggling cartel in Mumbai.Customs officials said, the Air India flight (AI347) from Singapore, which usually lands in Chennai at 11.25am as per schedule, then takes a domestic trip to Mumbai. However, on April 6, the flight could not land in Chennai due to a sudden downpour and was diverted to Bengaluru. Due to the delay in the arrival of the flight, Air India arranged an alternate flight to Mumbai from Chennai. The diverted flight then returned to Chennai at 3.40pm and was sent for deep cleansing and sanitisation. During the cleaning procedure, a concealment of 18 gold biscuits of 24-karat quality was found. Customs sleuths suspect the consignment must have been destined for Mumbai as the flight was originally scheduled for Mumbai from Chennai. “If the gold had been meant for Chennai, it would be in paste or powder form to evade detection. To avoid customs checking, smugglers often choose flights that arrive from abroad and take the domestic route in the next leg to hide gold. Another member of the cartel who boards the flight will take away the gold and exit via the domestic terminal without customs scrutiny,” officials said.
