How husband-wife duo concealed 24 kg gold in undergarments, handbags, trousers, seized at Surat airport
AIU foils smuggling bid, seizes 24.827 kg gold worth Rs 25.57 crore at Surat International airport
By Newsmeter Network
How husband-wife duo concealed 24 kg gold in undergarments, handbags, trousers?
Surat: Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) has seized 24.827 kilograms of gold valued at Rs 25.57 crore at Surat International airport.
This is one of the biggest seizures of gold in Gujarat made by the Ahmedabad Customs Commissionerate.
On July 20, acting upon passenger profiling and surveillance conducted by Customs officers of AIU, Surat Unit, two passengers arriving from Dubai to Surat by Air India Express Flight IX-174 were intercepted by the AIU team at the arrival hall.
The passengers were under watch based on suspicious movement patterns and technical profiling inputs gathered by Surat Customs, AIU Unit. A corroborative input from CISF personnel regarding one of the passengers further reinforced the suspicion. Accordingly, both passengers were subjected to a detailed personal search.
On examination and personal search of both passengers (husband & wife), a total of 28.100 Kg of Gold in paste form was recovered, which was ingeniously concealed within modified jeans/pants, inner garments, a handbag, and footwear.
The operation led to the recovery of 24.827 kilograms of gold valued at approximately ā¹25.57 crore in the domestic market.
Both individuals have been arrested under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and produced before the court.
The modus operandi detected in the present case points to the adoption of advanced body concealment techniques to carry out the gold smuggling.
Further investigation is in progress.
