Customs officials on Sunday seized over 30kg gold that had arrived in a “diplomatic baggage” by air cargo at the international airport here.
Customs commissioner Sumit Kumar said a smuggling syndicate was suspected to have used the name of a person who enjoys diplomatic immunity.
“We are investigating some scamsters who seem to have misused the name of this person. We have nabbed some of them and an investigation is on,” he said.
Kumar said the person with diplomatic immunity to whom the consignment was addressed was cooperating with the probe.
“We had certain questions.... As per protocol, we requested them to help us and they were kind enough to help us,” he said.
Airport sources said the gold was concealed in a consignment of bathroom equipment.
“It came two days ago but since no one came to claim it, the bag was inspected and the concealed gold was found,” an airport official said.
Customs officials are also investigating whether smugglers had used such a method in the past too.
Last year, more than 550kg of smuggled gold was seized in Kerala, setting a national record, Kumar said.
He said his department was confident about bettering it this year even with the lockdown and with regular international flights suspended.