Customs officials at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi arrested three foreign nationals for attempting to smuggle gold bars worth approximately Rs2 crore (Dh881,243.19) from Dubai. The gold, weighing around 3.75kg, was ingeniously concealed in a cloth stitched to the waistband of their pants. A video released by Delhi Customs shows officials cutting the cloth to uncover the gold bars, wrapped in parchment paper.
This incident marks a worrying increase in gold smuggling cases in India, with this being the third such event in a matter of days. Just a day earlier, a traveler from Bangkok was caught at the same airport with gold bars valued at INR 2.4 crore (Dh1057475.08), weighing 4204 grams.
Earlier in the week, Chennai airport customs authorities seized about 1.5 kg of gold in paste form, valued at INR 90 lakh (Dh396556.79). The gold was being carried by a staffer and was originally left in a restroom by a transit passenger, suspected to have arrived from Dubai. The staffer was apprehended as he moved between the international and domestic terminals.