Mangaluru, Apr 4: Thwarting yet another attempt to smuggle gold, officials of air customs at Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) here on Sunday arrested a passenger and seized gold worth over Rs 37 lakh.
The customs officers intercepted a passenger identified as Noushad Thrikkulath (37), a native of Kasaragod in Kerala.
The passenger disembarked the Air India flight IX 384 from Dubai from where he tried to smuggle gold by concealing it inside his body through rectum.
Gold of net weight 802 gm valued at Rs 37.29 lakh was seized.
Further investigation is under progress, a customs release here said.
The operation was led by deputy commissioner Avinash Kiran Rongali.
4th April 2021: Gold valued at ₹37.29 lakhs has been seized from the PAX. @cbic_india @blrcustoms @AircusM #indiancustomsatwork pic.twitter.com/Xx7gPkrGEF
— Customs-Mangaluru (@Cusmglr) April 4, 2021
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Kochi (PTI): A special court here will complete proceedings for framing charges against the prime accused in the 2010 hand-chopping case involving professor T J Joseph, in which PFI activists were accused of attacking him at Muvattupuzha.
Ernakulam Special Court for NIA cases judge P K Mohandas, on April 30, heard the arguments of counsel for accused Savad and Shafeer C and decided to proceed with framing charges against the duo.
A group chopped off Thodupuzha Newman College professor Joseph's right hand in July 2010, accusing him of religious blasphemy in a question paper he had prepared.
The case, later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), resulted in the conviction of 19 accused.
The first accused, Savad, who allegedly chopped off Joseph’s palm, was arrested in Berram in Mattannur, Kannur, in January 2024, where he had allegedly been hiding under the pseudonym Shajahan.
The NIA also arrested Shafeer, who allegedly arranged shelter and provided logistical support to Savad at Chakkad and Mattannur in Kannur since 2020.
On April 30, the court heard the counsel for the accused and the NIA prosecutor on framing charges against the duo.
"On going through the documents and evidence in the case and on hearing the counsel for the accused and the prosecutor, I am of the opinion that there are grounds for presuming that the first accused has committed offences punishable under provisions of the IPC, the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and that the second accused has committed offences punishable under the IPC and the UAPA, and there are materials for framing charges under these provisions against the accused," the court said.
The court directed that Savad be produced and Shafeer, who is on bail, appear before it on May 15 for recording their pleas as part of the charge-framing process.
After framing the charges, the court will schedule the trial in the case.
