Flyer caught with gold dust worth Rs 34 lakh at city airport

The Mumbai customs foiled a plan of a passenger to sneak in gold in his rectum at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).

The customs intercepted a passenger arriving from Dubai which resulted in recovery of 841 gram of gold dust which was concealed in his rectum. The total value of the gold is Rs 34.12 lakh. Such cases of concealment in rectum were frequently reported in the past but had stopped in the recent times.

The gold was seized under the reasonable belief that the same was smuggled into India without payment of customs duty in contravention to provisions of The Customs Act, 1962.Such carriers are putting themselves at a grave risk, authorities stated. Such passengers are convinced for prompt self-removal. Delayed removal of rectal foreign bodies can lead to severe complications including abdominal, rectal pains associated with bleeding and infections.

There has been a string of cases reported at the airport wherein passengers arriving from Dubai have been intercepted carrying gold bars and gold dust. The agency suspects that syndicates are operating to smuggle the precious gold in the country. The aircrafts too arriving from Dubai are subjected to scrutiny.

On January 28, gold bars worth Rs 87.58 lakh were found hidden in the toilet of an aircraft. The gold bars were hidden beneath the tissue paper compartment in the toilet, but were traced only after the aircraft landed in the city from Dubai. The Customs rummaged through the aircraft upon its arrival when they recovered the unclaimed gold.