Kochi: The Cochin Customs have recovered a gold disc worth Rs 31 lakh from inside an air fryer 50 days after the cooking appliance was seized from a passenger at the Nedumbassery Airport.
Following the discovery of the smuggled item, the Customs have issued a summons for Kasaragod native, Abdulla Thuruthi, from whose check-in baggage the air fryer was seized.
According to Customs, a carton box in Abdulla's possession, which consisted of the air fryer, was seized on September 24 after it showed "some suspicious images" during baggage scanning.
However, as the officers could not physically verify the contents without dismantling it, they held on to the air fryer and let Abdulla go. He was told to appear when summoned. "However the passenger neither appeared nor responded," the Customs said.
Meanwhile, Abdulla took a flight to Dubai from Kannur Airport on November 3 evading the Cochin Customs that had required his presence to inspect the product. With the passenger slipping away, the Customs decided to dismantle the product in the presence of independent witnesses.
"The said air fryer was dismantled and a hollow metal disc was recovered. Thereafter, the said item was taken to a lathe workshop to break it open. As a result, a crude gold hollow disc weighing 581.700 grams concealed inside the hollow metal disc was recovered. Further investigation in progress," the Customs said in a release.
