Coimbatore : Sleuths of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 2.92 kg of gold, valued at Rs 90.52 lakh from a passenger on a Singapore flight at the city airport.

Based on specific information that one Ijaz Khan from Chennai was smuggling gold, DIR officers intercepted him last night and seized a water cooler.

The unusual weight of the compressor in the cooler compelled the officers to it cut open and noticed gold pieces immersed in the oil well beneath the motor in the bottom half, an official statement said today.

The gold was cut into small cuboid pieces and concealed in the compressor through a tiny 4mm diametre hole and electrodes were welded on to it.

The gold pieces were taken out and oil was separated. It weighed 2.92 kg. The passenger is said to have admitted that he was to hand over the consignment to some stranger waiting outside the airport and that he would himself approach him with his photograph as seen in some movies.