Customs seize gold worth Rs 70L as flight diverts due to hydraulic failure

The Customs at Kochi airport on Friday caught a person trying to smuggle gold worth Rs 70 lakh inside small packs after a Kozhikode-bound plane was diverted to Kochi following hydraulic failure.

Malappuram native, Samad, was arrested when the Spice jet flight from Jeddah was diverted to Kochi airport and Customs seized 1,650 g of gold from him.

When the flight landed in Kochi instead of Kozhikode, the passengers were disembarked and allowed to rest in the security hall.

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Later, when security checks were carried out to reroute the passengers on a different flight of SpiceJet, Samad showed signs of anxiety. According to the customs officials, the accused tried to transfer the gold from his waist where it was kept in small black bags of a grown-up-man's palm length, to the luggage. He wanted to use in the washroom, raising suspicion among the CISF personnel who were monitoring the passengers. That's when the customs were informed.

When the customs officials reached and conducted a body search, they found the gold that had been placed in the hand luggage. A case was registered.

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The Kozhikode-bound Spicejet flight from Jeddah was diverted to Kochi on Friday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had informed. "Kozhikode-bound SpiceJet flight from Jeddah diverted to Kochi due to hydraulic system failure. The flight landed safely with all passengers at Kochi," DGCA said in a statement.