5 held at IGI for smuggling gold worth over Rs 1 cr

Five persons have been arrested in two separate incidents at the Delhi airport for their alleged involvement in smuggling gold worth over Rs 1 crore, Customs officials said on Friday.

In the first incident, two passengers, who arrived from Dubai on Wednesday, were intercepted by the officials.

A detailed personal search resulted in the recovery of four transparent poly bags containing a brown colour substance weighing 1,139 grams suspected to contain gold in chemical paste form concealed in their rectum, the officials said.

Extraction from the substance resulted in the recovery of 584.4 grams of gold, they said.

One gold pendent studded with artificial/synthetic stones having gross weight of 22 gams and one silver colour coated gold key were also found, the officials said.

The recovered gold, worth Rs 22,36,557, has been seized.

From September 2017 to September 2019, they admitted to have smuggled commercial items worth over Rs 1.08 crore.

In a separate incident, a personal and baggage search of two Indians, who returned from Dubai, resulted in the recovery of two gold bangles and two gold chains total weighing 2,568 gms having a tariff value of Rs 92,72,740, the officials said.

The gold was seized under relevant provisions of the Customs Act.

From April to August this year, they admitted to have smuggled gold items weighing 1,300 gms amounting to Rs 42,69,467, they said.

The two passengers and their associate who had come to the airport to receive them were arrested, the officials added.