Nepal 4 detained with gold

TT, Siliguri, Jan. 8: Customs officials at Bagdogra airport today detained four Nepali nationals allegedly carrying gold worth over Rs 10 lakh.

The four had landed at Bagdogra on a Druk Air flight that was from Bangkok and bound for Paro in Bhutan.

“During the routine check, our staff found four passengers carrying gold biscuits weighing 420 grams…. We detained all the four and seized the gold,” said J.K. Bubana, the deputy commissioner of customs, Naxalbari division. He added that the quartet had hidden 14 gold biscuits that weighed 30gm each in their clothes.

According to prices today in Calcutta, 420gm of gold would be worth Rs 11,34,000.

Sources said during the interrogation, the four had revealed that a person in Bangkok had handed over the gold to them and the biscuits were meant for delivery in Nepal.

Asked why the four hadn’t been arrested, a customs official said according to Customs Act, 1962, a person could be arrested only if he was caught with gold worth Rs 20 lakh and above. “We detained them, seized the gold and obtained their written statements.”