Panaji: The commissionerate of customs, Goa, has struck gold.
Repeated individual gold busts at Dabolim airport notwithstanding, it has, for the first time, identified 10 alleged members of an organized gang that includes an Air India (AI) ramp supervisor hired on contract basis, an immigration officer and two senior staffers of a travel agency.
Customs officials suspect this gang to have smuggled 225 kg of gold, valued at Rs 58 crore, during 40-odd trips to the state last year.
A customs official said show-cause notices were issued to the 10 earlier this year, and while eight are presently untraceable, Imtiyaz Hussain, a passenger caught in the haul that triggered off the eventual gang bust, and Harpal Singh, general manager of Minar Travels Pvt Ltd, are presently lodged at the Sada sub-jail, Vasco.
Hussain, along with five other accused are residents of Bhatkal in Karnataka, while three others are from Goa, and the assistant central immigration officer is from Kozhikode in Kerala, said the official.
14/10/15 Lisa Monteiro/Times of India
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Repeated individual gold busts at Dabolim airport notwithstanding, it has, for the first time, identified 10 alleged members of an organized gang that includes an Air India (AI) ramp supervisor hired on contract basis, an immigration officer and two senior staffers of a travel agency.
Customs officials suspect this gang to have smuggled 225 kg of gold, valued at Rs 58 crore, during 40-odd trips to the state last year.
A customs official said show-cause notices were issued to the 10 earlier this year, and while eight are presently untraceable, Imtiyaz Hussain, a passenger caught in the haul that triggered off the eventual gang bust, and Harpal Singh, general manager of Minar Travels Pvt Ltd, are presently lodged at the Sada sub-jail, Vasco.
Hussain, along with five other accused are residents of Bhatkal in Karnataka, while three others are from Goa, and the assistant central immigration officer is from Kozhikode in Kerala, said the official.
14/10/15 Lisa Monteiro/Times of India
