Customs officials on Saturday seized 21 kgs of gold and diamond jewelery from the cargo section of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Shamshabad. The customs officials have conducted searches at Shamshabad Airport and air cargo this morning. The searches have been carried out under the supervision of a team of Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, and Inspectors.

After resuming the operations at RGIA, this has been considered as the major seizure by the customs officials in the recent times. Air operations have been suspended from March for a few weeks because of the lockdown declared by the central government to contain the spread of Coronavirus.

According to the reports, gold and diamonds have been carried from the Middle East to Hyderabad and officials seized it while checking the boxes.Out of the 21 kgs of gold and diamonds, two Kgs have been in the form of biscuits, while the rest were ornaments weighing 19kgs. The cost of the ornaments seized was over Rs 9.4 crore.

A senior customs official said that, “The consignment reached RGIA from a Middle East country and was being sent to Mumbai in domestic cargo, when the GMR staff found suspicious material during screening and alerted us around 5 a.m.” He further added that, "Lack of documentation is an indication that it is smuggled gold and so far no one has come to claim it."