Gold weighing 1.48 kg and valued at Rs 72.80 lakh was seized from three women passengers in separate cases at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad on Tuesday, January 11, Hyderabad Customs officials said. The women arrived in Hyderabad from Dubai in different flights. According to customs officials, two of them were carrying gold in paste form and hid it inside undergarments, while the other woman concealed it inside the rectum, they said.
Hyderabad Customs booked three cases for smuggling of gold and said further investigations were on. This is the latest in a series of incidents of gold smuggling which are frequently detected at the Hyderabad airport.
On 11.01.22 Hyderabad Customs booked 3 cases for smuggling of gold totalling 1.48 kgs valued at Rs. 72.80 lakhs against three female pax who arrived from Dubai. Gold was concealed inside undergarments in two cases and inside rectum in another. Further investigation is ongoing. pic.twitter.com/bpGabmApk9
— Hyderabad Customs (@hydcus) January 11, 2022
In March 2021, five passengers from Dubai were booked for carrying 2.5 kg of gold worth around Rs 1.15 crore, concealed in mixer-grinder motors and cutting appliances. The smuggled gold was found in their baggage. In the same month, officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 25 kg gold, estimated to be worth Rs 11.63 crore, being smuggled from Assam to Hyderabad. The gold was seized from an SUV on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad highway in Telangana's Yadadri-Bhongir district, at the Pantangi toll plaza.
A couple of weeks before that, another woman who tried to smuggle gold in paste form from Dubai was detained at the Hyderabad airport. She was found carrying Rs 74 lakh worth of gold weighing 1.6 kilograms concealed in her body. In December 2020, gold bars weighing 1.4 kg and valued at around Rs 67 lakh were seized at the Hyderabad airport from another woman who arrived from Dubai. The passenger was intercepted during a routine customs check, and was found to have concealed five gold bars and jewellery of 22 carats in her baggage, according to an official release.