Man tries sneaking in gold worth ₹60L as hooks, arrested

Ahmedabad: In the form of paste concealed in underwear, as suitcase rivets or as capsules concealed in the mouth and rectum, smugglers have tried their ingenuity to sneak in gold through the Ahmedabad airport. On Thursday, customs officers at the Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport foiled yet another such attempt after discovering 600g of gold shaped into tiny hooks in a passenger’s luggage. The gold was valued at Rs 60 lakh, officers said, adding that the passenger has been apprehended.According to customs officers, the native of Veraval arrived at the airport from Sharjah. Based on passenger profiling, he was intercepted while trying to exit from the Green Channel for those who have nothing to declare to customs officers.“Detailed examination showed gold chain hooks of 18K (750 purity) and 14K (585 purity), weighing a total of 600.240g concealed inside two trolley bags. The combined market value of the seized gold hooks has been assessed at Rs 60.2 lakh," according to a press release from the customs department.Sources said the hooks were found packed in four different polythene bags. “It is possible that they may be part of gold chains or were to be used with gold chains, and sourced from Gulf countries. The passenger is being questioned on this unusual find. The gold has been seized under Customs Act, 1962, and the passenger has been placed under arrest,” the sources said.There have been several cases where smugglers have tried to hoodwink customs officers by reshaping the gold into different objects or turning it into paste.In Feb this year, a man had layered his underwear with gold in an attempt to walk out undetected with the consignment worth Rs 44.3 lakh. A month earlier, officers searched a passenger arriving from Bangkok and found four small capsules wrapped with black tape. The man had concealed these capsules, weighing 108g in total, in his mouth. Gold weighing 553g and worth over Rs 83.3 lakh was found concealed inside a woman’s rectum. It had been turned into paste.