Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 19 Jun, 2023 05:20 PM
New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) Three persons have been arrested here at the IGI Airport for attempting to smuggle 1,122 gm of gold valued at over Rs 57 lakh, an official said on Monday.
A Customs official said that the arrest was made based on profiling when an air passenger arrived at IGI, and was about to board a flight to Bangkok.
"During the investigation, it was revealed that the passenger admitted to smuggling the gold in paste form by handing it over to an airline staff member who then clandestinely took it outside the Delhi airport without declaring it to the proper customs officer or paying the customs duty on the gold," an official said.
The Customs officials seized a total of 1,122 gm of gold valued at Rs 57,65,879 under Section 110 of the Customs Act.
"Both the passenger and the referred person have committed offences punishable under Sections 132 and 135 of the Customs Act. They have been placed under arrest in accordance with Section 104 of the Customs Act," added the official.
Puri left by a special flight of IndiGo Airlines for the evacuation of Indian nationals stuck in Ukraine via Budapest. Union Minister General V.K. Singh is on his way to Poland to energize the government's efforts to facilitate Indians stranded on the Ukrainian side of the Polish border.
According to sources, Modi was briefed about the evacuation status and was informed that over 1,750 Indian students have returned to the country so far.
Also, guided by India's motto of the world being one family, the Prime Minister said that India will help people from neighbouring countries and developing nations who are stranded in Ukraine, seeking assistance.
There are currently 14 major medical colleges in Ukraine in which more than 18,000 Indian students are pursuing MBBS and BDS courses. Out of these, about 1,000 have returned home while efforts are on to bring back the rest.
Modi thanked Heger for the assistance provided by Slovakia in the evacuation of Indian citizens from Ukraine, and for permitting special evacuation flights from India. He asked for Slovakia's continued assistance in the next few days with India undertaking a mission to evacuate other citizens from conflict zones.
Sidhu has urged the apex court not to punish him with a jail term in a 1988 road rage case in which he was let off with a meagre fine of Rs 1,000. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing Gurnam Singh's family, submitted that he has moved an application seeking enlargement of the scope of the notice issued.
