Customs officials at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport on Saturday announced the seizure of 115 smuggled gold bars weighing 3.5 kilograms from an American national of Indian origin, according to a report by news agency PTI. The operation took place at the international arrival terminal, where the passenger was intercepted after arriving from San Francisco on May 15.
Rise in Smuggling After Duty Hike
The seizure comes amid a recent surge in gold smuggling attempts, which officials attribute to the increase in Customs duty on gold from 6 percent to 15 percent. The higher duty has made smuggling more profitable, leading to more sophisticated concealment methods.
Concealment in Specially Designed Belt
According to an official statement, the passenger allegedly concealed the contraband inside a specially designed belt and in inner pockets stitched into his trousers. The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) officers acted on intelligence inputs developed through risk-based passenger profiling after the traveler attempted to cross the green channel covertly.
During the search, customs officers recovered 115 gold bars of 24-carat purity (999.9) weighing a total of 3,565 grams. The bars were hidden in inner pockets within the trousers and a specially designed belt.
Link to International Syndicates
Senior customs officials monitoring contraband movement stated that the seizure directly correlates with the recent rise in gold smuggling attempts following the duty hike. The statement noted, 'With the margin of profit per kilogram skyrocketing, international syndicates appear to have shown heightened desperation by deploying increasingly complex concealment methods.'
The gold was being smuggled into India as contraband and was seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962. The passenger was subsequently arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act.
