Pune: The customs officials at the Pune airport recovered six gold biscuits, worth around Rs22 lakh, from the rear lavatory of the SpiceJet flight (SG52) that had come in from Dubai on Saturday.This latest recovery of smuggled gold comes after a two-month break. In recent times, smugglers have tried to sneak in the precious metal into the country in many innovative ways and forms — even making a semi-solid gold paste. These tactics have, however, not worked at the Pune airport. Sources said, perhaps the smugglers are now reverting to their old modus operandi of using gold biscuits.“The total weight of the gold biscuits is 699.9 gram, which is valued at Rs21,90,750. It is after more than two months that the airport has seen another gold smuggling attempt and the modus operandi is an old one. However, the catch shows that the officials at the Pune airport are vigilant at all times and have not slipped during the lull period,” a customs official told TOI.“When the customs officials were checking the flight after landing, they found the gold biscuits concealed in the flight’s rear lavatory’s oxygen mask panel. The biscuits were double wrapped with black adhesive tape and a yellow cloth and then concealed in the lavatory,” Mahesh Patil, the deputy commissioner (customs) at Pune airport, said.The officials said an investigation is on.The last catch was on March 4 when a Mumbai-based woman was arrested for trying to smuggle in gold by turning it into a paste and applying it all over her body. The recovered gold weighed 3.41kg and it was worth almost Rs1 crore. “There have been many cases in which gold has been recovered from the SpiceJet flight. However, we have not come across any evidence that has indicated that an airline official might be involved,” the official said, adding that once the international flights land in Pune, the air customs team goes to the aircraft and conducts a thorough check.“Last year, we got two videoscopes which allowed us to check the plane’s narrowest gaps. In most of the cases, the gold is found hidden under the seats. With the fresh catch, the airport is more alert than before,” the official said. “After the failure of the gold paste mode, the smugglers must be thinking of something different to try and fox us,” the official said.The officials said the gold was seized by the authorities under a reasonable belief that the same was attempted to be smuggled in the country and hence it was liable for confiscation under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962.

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