Four employees of Indigo and Spicejet airlines are among seven people arrested by officials of the Customs Department at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport for allegedly smuggling gold into the country valued Rs 72.46 lakh, an official statement on Saturday.

Three persons were intercepted by the customs officials after their arrival from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday. A thorough personal and baggage search of the two passengers resulted in the recovery of two gold bars and one gold biscuit weighing 517.2 grams and valued at Rs 22.89 lakh, the statement issued by the customs department said.

One of the passengers has admitted to having handed over 160 grams of gold to an Indigo airline staffer, it said.

Investigations revealed that three members of a syndicate of Indigo airline and one member of Spicejet were also involved in smuggling of gold and they have also admitted their involvement in smuggling of 960 grams gold previously, the statement said.

The total value of the smuggled goods including previously smuggled gold comes to Rs 72.46 lakh, it added.

All the seven accused persons have been placed under arrest and further investigations are being carried out to unravel all the links in the smuggling chain.