Custom officials at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru seized a little over one kilogram of gold hidden in the rectums of two passengers who landed in the city on Friday, reports said. The gold was hidden in their rectums in the form of paste contained in capsules.
Officials said that the gold seized weighed 1.05 kg and was valued at around Rs 37.4 lakh.
According to reports, the two men had reached the city from Dubai via Goa. They were on board Air India flight AI 994, which landed in Bengaluru at 5.35 am.
Officials of the Air Intelligence Unit said that the duo was approached after they were seen acting in a suspicious manner while they waited in the clearance area of the airport. Upon questioning, it was discovered that the two were carrying smuggled goods on their person via capsules.
The airport had seen a dip in smuggling activities over the last few months. The last large-scale seizure was reported in April. At that time time, officials arrested three men for smuggling gold worth Rs 29.30 lakh concealed in their rectums. In that case as well, the gold had been smuggled in the form of paste in pellets mixed with other chemicals and insulated with tape. The three accused had flown into Bengaluru from Goa on an Air India flight.
Earlier in January, customs officials at the Kempegowda International Airport had caught four passengers returning to the country with a total of 700 grams of gold worth Rs 23.19 lakh.
In one case, a total of 496 grams of gold was found in the rectums of three women. According to officials, the three woman flying from Colombo on Sri Lankan Airlines flight were detained after suspicion. In another instance on the same day, an AP passenger was caught with 200 grams of gold strapped to his body as he reached Bengaluru from Kuwait on an Emirates flight