1 kg gold paste recovered from passenger at Jaipur airport; smuggling on rise

Jaipur: The customs department on Friday sized about gold weighing about 926 gram from a smuggler after he landed at the Jaipur International Airport. It took customs officials nearly eight hours to collect the gold as it had been melted and was hidden in the under garments in paste form by the passengers. The officials said that it was first of its kind gold smuggling case. The gold is worth nearly Rs 35 lakh.

The smuggler was identified as Mustafa Anwar, a resident of Jamnagar in Gujarat. The customs department officials and CRPF personnel noticed his suspicious behaviour and searched him. They were shocked to find the gold in paste form hidden in his underwear.

The passenger was taken into custody. The officials said that he was being interrogated and his travel records are being examined. It is also being ascertained whether he is a member of any organized smuggling gang.

It was the second case of gold smuggling via the Jaipur International Airport in the past one week. The cases of gold smuggling are on the rise after the general elections.

In May, a woman had been arrested for gold smuggling. According to the customs department, smugglers used different ways to smuggle gold from foreign countries to Jaipur over the past year. Some hid the gold in their sandal, hair dryer, suitcases’ handle, headphone, blazer’s button and some in their rectum. The increase in gold smuggling cases is being attributed to lax laws.