Customs Data Suggests Rampant Gold Smuggling at Indian Airports

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Two airport staff and several passengers were arrested in separate incidents in connection with smuggling of gold through airports.

In an incident at New Delhi International Airport, customs officials intercepted a passenger upon his arrival from Abu Dhabi. He had carried two packets of chemical paste containing nearly 1.48 kilograms of gold, valued at around INR 72.5 lakh and hid the same in the lavatory of the aircraft. An Air India SATS staff was caught while trying to handed over this packet to another staff. All the three were arrested. During interrogation, the passenger admitted that he had smuggled gold worth approximately INR 2.17 crore during his three prior visits.

In a separate incident at the Chennai International Airport, Customs officials detained two persons and seized 1.78 kilograms of gold from them. The passengers had arrived from Dubai. Eight bundles of gold paste hidden in the rectum were recovered. The seized gold was valued at around INR 90.4 lakhs.

According to Customs, the arrested persons are part of syndicate which smuggles gold from foreign countries to India on commission basis and delivers them to local agents for distribution.

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