The Customs officials at the Delhi airport have seized gold bars worth Rs2 crore (Dh881,243.19) at the Indira Gandhi International Airport from three foreign nationals travelling from Dubai to India.
The three people attempted to smuggle about 3.75kg of gold in a piece of cloth stitched to the waistband of their pants. In the video, shared by Delhi Customs on X (previously Twitter), officials are seen cutting through the cloth to retrieve gold bars wrapped in what looked like parchment paper.
The three foreign nationals were arrested under the Customs Act, 1962, the report added. The incidents of gold smuggling in India have seen a sudden spike in the past week or so. This is the third such incident in just as many days.
The interception and arrest of three foreign nationals comes just a day after an Indian travelling from Bangkok was apprehended at the Delhi Airport with gold bars worth INR 2.4 crore (Dh1057475.08), reported news agency ANI.
The weight of the gold bars was 4204 grams, the report added.
“The passenger has been arrested under the Customs Act, 1962. Further investigations are underway,” a Customs Department official was quoted as saying.
Earlier this week, on Monday, the customs authorities seized around 1.5 kg of gold in paste form at the Chennai airport in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. A staffer was carrying gold worth INR 90 lakh (Dh396556.79) out of a loo where it was left by a transit passenger, The Times Of India reported.
The passenger, in question, is also believed to have arrived from Dubai, and efforts to identify him/her are underway, the report added.
The staffer was taken into custody after the air intelligence unit followed him as he exited the loo on the passage, which links the international terminal with the domestic terminal.