New Delhi: A 32-year-old male passenger was apprehended at Delhi airport after customs officials seized 467 grams of gold that was concealed inside a tea maker he was carrying, an official statement said on Monday. 

The man, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, was intercepted after his arrival from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

The gold, valued at around Rs 34.67 lakh and disguised as silver-coated items, was seized on Sunday at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.

“Initial checks didn’t reveal anything unusual. However, during the X-ray of the baggage, suspicious images were observed. Three silver-coated yellow metal pieces hidden inside metallic flasks (and) one silver-coated yellow metal piece concealed in a metal tea container (were recovered),” the customs department posted on X.

In a similar incident, customs officials have seized more than Rs 17 lakh worth of gold, which was concealed inside toffee wrappers, at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here, according to an official statement issued on Thursday.

A 22-year-old Indian male passenger from Rajasthan , travelling from Doha to Delhi, on Wednesday tried to outsmart the customs officials by hiding 240 grams (approximate) of gold chains inside toffee wrappers, it said.