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- Customs seized 115 gold bars from an American national.
- Gold was concealed in a specially designed belt.
Customs officials at Indira Gandhi International Airport have seized 115 smuggled gold bars weighing 3.5 kg from an American national of Indian origin who allegedly concealed the contraband inside a specially designed belt, officials said on Saturday.
According to an official statement, senior Customs officers monitoring contraband movement said the major seizure coincides with a recent spike in gold smuggling attempts following the hike in Customs duty on gold from 6 per cent to 15 per cent, PTI reported.
Officials said the sharp increase in profit margins for illegal gold trade appears to have prompted international smuggling syndicates to adopt more sophisticated concealment techniques.
Acting on intelligence inputs generated through risk-based passenger profiling, officers of the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) intercepted the passenger at the international arrivals terminal after he arrived from San Francisco on May 15 and allegedly attempted to pass through the green channel unnoticed.
During the search, officials recovered 115 gold bars hidden in inner pockets stitched into the passenger’s trousers and concealed within a specially modified belt.
The seized gold bars were of 24-karat purity (999.9) with a total weight of 3,565 grams.
Customs officials said the gold was being smuggled into India illegally and was seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962.
The passenger has been arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act, the statement added.
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