56 from TN land at Vizag airport with 63kg gold

DRI officials said the passengers, who arrived by three flights from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore between 9pm and 11pm on Sunday, could be part of one big racket. Most of the gold was concealed in electronic goods such as LCD TVs, microwaves and DVD players.

DRI officials from Chennai reached Visakhapatnam airport after receiving information that people from Tamil Nadu are landing there with gold. "Many of the detained persons were frequent fliers and known couriers of contraband. There are also a few first-timers in this group," said an official.

A press release by DRI said: "All the 56 passengers travelling on Air Asia flight AK-83 and Malindo Air OD-251 from Kuala Lumpur as well as SilkAir flight MI-442 from Singapore were identified for interception and recovery of smuggled gold. The first flight of Air Asia arrived at 9.10 pm followed by Silk Air at 10.05 pm and Malindo Air at 11 pm."

Taking advantage of the rush (due to three international flights landing in quick succession), the smugglers were trying to evade customs but were intercepted when they were collecting their luggage. "Gold in various shapes, resembling parts of electronic goods like magnets, amplifiers, speaker stands and central pulley of washing machines were found," the DRI release said.