Gold worth Rs 8.44 lakh was seized from a passenger who arrived at Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport in Chandigarh from Dubai, the Customs department said on Thursday.

Customs officials intercepted the passenger when he was trying to cross the 'green channel', it said in a statement.?

A search of his two trolley bags led to the recovery of 160.5 grams of gold. The gold was concealed in small silver-coloured metal pieces placed in the wheel of the bags, according to the statement.

The gold seized has a market value of Rs 844,390. It was confiscated for being illegally imported into India, the department said.

Further investigation is underway, it added.