Assorted gemstones totaling 1,746 pieces worth 9.43 million Indian rupees were seized at the airport in Chennai and a Sri Lankan national was arrested in this connection, the Indian customs department said.
Acting on specific inputs, the authorities intercepted the passenger who arrived in Chennai from Colombo recently, a press release from Commissioner of Customs K R Uday Bhaskar said.
Initial examinations revealed that the passenger had swallowed packets containing the precious stones.
The officials recovered as many as 56 packets containing 1,746 assorted gemstones from him under relevant sections of the Customs Act, 1962.
Further investigation was on, the release said.
(Inputs from PTI)
