Gold worth Rs 42.8 lakh seized at Hyderabad airport

Gold valued at over Rs 42 lakh was seized at Hyderabad airport, from a passenger who had concealed it in paste form in his rectum, Customs officials said on Friday.

The passenger, who arrived on a flight from Muscat, was intercepted on the basis of prior information received by the Customs Air Intelligence unit of Hyderabad.

The passenger was found to be carrying 685.7 grams of gold in paste form worth Rs 42.8 lakh concealed in his rectum.

Further investigation is underway in the case to unravel the wider smuggling network.

This is the second gold seizure at the Hyderabad airport this week, as 1,800 grams of gold worth Rs 1 crore was also seized on Tuesday from three passengers, Customs officials disclosed.

The passengers had arrived on a morning flight from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. The officials said that on searching the passengers gold was recovered from the passengers which was concealed in their shoes in a paste form.

Gold smuggling is on the rise from Gulf countries as it is easy to buy there and available at a much cheaper price which tempts unscrupulous elements to smuggle the precious metal to make a fast buck.

On May 16, in a similar incident, a passenger who arrived from Jeddah was arrested at Hyderabad Airport as he was smuggling  in 403 grams of gold valued at more than Rs 21 lakh, according to Customs officials.