By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Customs wing at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport foiled two smuggling attempts through an Air India Express flight that landed on Friday morning. They seized over 1,650 gm of gold worth over Rs 68 lakh. Air Customs officers seized the gold hidden in a juicer from a passenger and the Customs preventive division seized two gold bars hidden beneath the seat of the same flight. However, they did not reveal the identity of the passenger who was apprehended. The preventive division led by Deputy Commissioner Harikrishnan D found gold bars concealed under the passenger seat of IX 540 Dubai-Thiruvananthapuram Air India Express flight. The gold weighed 1040.72 gm. The officers said they searched the aircraft based on a tip-off and the gold bars were wrapped in masking and insulation tapes. The consignment was glued beneath the seat occupied by a child. The inspection was carried out after the passengers alighted the plane. “No one has been arrested so far. The investigation is going on,” said an officer. The inspection team consisted of superintendents Balraj Menon, Bindu V, Sanaev Thomas, inspectors Stalin V, Udayashankar D and ASI Syed Zaheer. Youth held with banned tobacco products T’Puram: In a major seizure, a special team of excise seized 1,500 kg of banned tobacco products from a youth at Neyyattinkara on Friday. The accused, Shyju, a resident of Aralumoodu, has been arrested and remanded in judicial custody. The contraband was confiscated from the residence of the accused. Upon interrogation, the accused said that he had brought the contraband from Tamil Nadu by train. The tobacco products were stored in 25 sacks. The products were meant for supplying to various retail shops. Shyju bought the house located in a secluded place a year ago for the clandestine business. His motive was to use the residence as a godown for banned tobacco products. He used to sell the products at double the original price.

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