Kozhikode (Kerala), May 27 : Four passengers were arrested on Monday at the Karipur International Airport here for attempting to smuggle gold.

The four were carrying around 4.3 kg of gold valued at Rs 3.14 crore.

They arrived here from the Middle East and the Customs officials found the gold during checking.

The four had hidden gold in the form of paste on their bodies. During the personal examination, the officials recovered the gold.

A detailed probe has begun to find out if the smuggled gold was for others or if they carried it for their use.

The officials said that of late cases of smuggling of gold through the four international airports in the state have increased.

Most of the smuggled gold is recovered in the paste form as it is believed that the metal detectors fail to detect gold in the form, the officials added.

/IANS