Delhi: 44-year-old woman arrested at Delhi Airport for smuggling gold worth Rs 50 lakh
Dec 17, 2024
New Delhi [India], December 17 : A 44-year-old woman was arrested at Indira Gandhi International Airport for allegedly smuggling gold worth Rs 50 lakh from Dubai to Delhi by concealing it in her rectum, Delhi Customs officials said.
According to Delhi Customs, based on profiling, the officers of Airport Customs, IGI Airport, Terminal-3, New Delhi have booked a case of smuggling of gold on December 15 against one Indian female passenger who arrived at T-3 of IGI Airport by Air India from Kathmandu in Nepal.
"The accused woman is a 44-year-old Mumbai resident and she is a part of a smuggling gang. She was carrier and admitted that she had smuggled gold with the same modus operandi earlier also. She used to get around Rs 20,000 per trip," a Customs official said.
The detailed examination of the baggage and personal search of the passenger resulted in the recovery of three oval-shaped capsules suspected to contain gold in paste form having a gross weight of 770 grams inclusive of green colour and transparent adhesive tapes used for packing/concealment ejected by the passenger voluntarily from her rectum.
One rectangular-shaped gold bar total weighing 681 grams was extracted out from the said gold paste recovered from the passenger have a total tariff value of Rs 50 lakh. The passenger admitted that she had brought the said gold item in chemical paste form from Dubai to Bangkok to Nepal and from Nepal to Delhi, as per Delhi Customs.
The recovered gold has been seized under section 1 10 of the Customs Act, 1962. The said passenger has been placed under arrest in terms of section 104 of the Customs Act, 1962, the official added. Further investigation is on.
Earlier on December 15, a male passenger arriving from Riyadh on AI-926 was intercepted at Delhi airport by Customs officials. X-ray scans revealed two gold bars (~300g, Rs22.2L) cleverly concealed inside an adaptor.
On the same day, Customs seized 931.57 grams of 24K gold (worth Rs68.93 lakhs) from gold paste weighing 1047 grams. Two Indian male passengers (aged 41 & 36, from UP) were arrested after arrival in Delhi from Riyadh (Flight XY 329). Based on intelligence inputs, Customs officers at IGI Airport intercepted the duo and uncovered gold paste hidden in undergarments. Detailed searches revealed uneven pouches containing paste, from which 24 KT gold was extracted. The gold was seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962 and the passengers arrested under Section 104. Investigations are ongoing.
