The Air Customs at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi have booked five people in three separate cases of smuggling and recovered 6522 gms of gold worth Rs. 3.43 crore concealed in their clothes and rectum.
“AirCustoms@IGIA have booked 3 separate cases of smuggling after 6522 gms of gold concealed by 5 pax in their clothes & rectum were recovered and seized. Value of seized gold is Rs. 3.43 Cr Further investigations are on,” the Delhi Customs (Airport and General) posted on X.
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In a statement, the Customs department said that on the basis of suspicion, the officers of Airport Customs at Terminal-3 of Delhi Airport have booked three different cases of smuggling of gold on August 13 against five Indian national passengers who arrived at T-3, IGI Airport New Delhi by Flight No. EY218 of Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi and flight no. 6E 1464 of Indigo Airlines from Dubai.
The passengers had tried to smuggle the gold concealed in their jeans and handbags, one passenger attempted to smuggle it concealed in his rectum. Following the search, the recovery of gold collectively weighed 6522 grams having a tariff value of Rs. 3.42 crore.
The recovered gold has been seized under section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962. Three passengers have been placed under arrest in terms of section 104 of the Customs Act, 1962. Further investigation is under progress, the statement read.
Earlier on Wednesday, Airport Customs officials at the Delhi Airport arrested eight passengers after they were found concealing gold worth Rs 2.92 crore in a baggage trolley.
A senior Customs official said that it is a new modus operandi to smuggle gold by concealing it in baggage trolleys available at the airport. The operation was carried out based on intelligence inputs.
In a statement, Customs informed that officers at IGI airport have booked a case of smuggling of gold on August 15 on the basis of profiling of eight Uzbekistan nationals, who arrived from Tashkent to Delhi by Flight No HY 421 at Terminal 3 of Delhi Airport.
“The arrested passengers were Uzbekistan nationals that include five men and three women passengers. They all have been arrested. The case is under investigation to find out the place of delivery of smuggled gold,” the official said.
