(UDHAYAM, MUMBAI) – A Sri Lankan passport holder, Mohamed Sufiyan Nizamdeen has been arrested in Mumbai while he was attempting to smuggle gold into the country.
Nizamdeen, 43, was intercepted based on profiling on arrival from Colombo by SriLankan Airline flight UL 141 in the Arrivals hall after he cleared himself through the Green Channel, The Hindu reported.
Nizamdeen, from Kandy, had been caught smuggling last month. He was booked and issued a summons as per procedure as amount of gold being smuggled was below Indian Rs. 20 lakh in value. As per rules, those caught smuggling gold worth below Indian Rs. 20 lakh are not arrested. Those found smuggling gold worth between Indian Rs. 20 lakh and Indian Rs. 1 crore can obtain bail, while smuggling gold worth more than Indian Rs. 1 crore is a non-bailable offence.
On Sunday morning, Mr. Nazamdeen, a textile merchant, stopped when he spotted the Customs officers to greet them, who examined his baggage and found five gold bars weighing 500 gm and valued at Indian Rs. 14.75 lakh. The gold bars were cleverly concealed in a cavity specially made in the sole of his footwear. He has been booked, officers said.