Gold prices are up and so is the profit from smuggling the commodity. To make the most of the surging price, people have been trying to smuggle the yellow metal, but are getting thwarted by customs officials and authorities.
Custom officials at the Mumbai airport have seized more than 11.4 kg of gold and electronic goods, totalling Rs 7.46 crore over the past week.
A report by Times of India quoted airport officials saying gold was being smuggled hidden in clothes, sanitary pads, luggage, and undergarments.
Gold seizure at Mumbai airport
The seizure of 11.4 kg of gold was made over 24 separate cases. In the first case among several such, Mumbai customs intercepted two Indians, who were travelling from Dubai, for smuggling 2 kg of gold dust in wax concealed in sanitary pads and in clothes.
In a separate case, about 1.2 kg of gold was seized from two foreigners travelling from Nairobi and Abu Dhabi. They concealed it in their rectums and in the dress one of the fliers was wearing.
As many as 17 Indians travelling from Dubai, Bangkok, Sharjah, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Addis Ababa and Doha were found with 5 kg of gold. The report further mentioned officials saying gold dust was recovered from under the toilet seat of an aircraft and hidden in the pocket of a seat as well
In a separate incident, an Indian travelling from Sharjah was caught smuggling a number of high-end phones and laptops of a cumulative value of Rs 23.3 lakh concealed in their backpack.
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