Mumbai: Man caught with 240gm gold capsules in stomach

The Mumbai Airport Customs have detected a case of smuggling gold in capsules swallowed by mules. The authorities have seized 240gm of gold from a blue collar worker employed in the Gulf on arrival at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

Officers detected suspicious behaviour of flyer

Alert frontline officers manning the arrival gates of the international terminal detected suspicious behaviour of a flyer, Intizar Ali, on landing from Jeddah. Ali was asked to stand aside for further screening. The body scanning machine detected seven suspicious pellets in his abdomen. He was taken to JJ Hospital for further medical procedure to retrieve the foreign objects from his stomach. The doctors conducted an X-ray examination of the suspect and confirmed the presence of seven metal objects in his body. 

Seven gold pieces excreted after accused put on high fibre diet

A team headed by Dr Ajay Bhandarwar, head of the surgery department at JJ Hospital, put the accused on a high fibre diet, including dozens of bananas. Finally, on the third day, seven gold pieces were excreted. The accused confessed to swallowing gold capsules given by handler in Jeddah.

Modus operandi of smuggling through mules

People ferrying contraband like drugs and gold across international borders are notoriously known as mules. They are made to swallow condoms or capsules with the illicit items for smuggling. Multi-layered condoms are often force fed to victims. Traffickers use a special machine to open the condom and put contraband gold or drugs into them. The drug mules are first given oily soup laced with drugs to numb their throats so that the capsules slide down into the stomach to avoid detection.

The contraband is retrieved when the mule reaches the destination by administering laxative, officials said.