Varanasi: Customs Department Nabs Man Smuggling Gold Worth Rs 98 Lakh

The man was smuggling the gold from Sharjah and was caught while his flight was being de-boarded. He had hidden 1,567 grams of gold in the inner lining of his trousers, officials said.

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh): The customs department on Tuesday caught a man with 1,567 grams of gold paste worth Rs 98.40 lakh at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport. The gold being smuggled from Sharjah was hidden in his inner lining of the trousers.

During checking of the passengers after Air India Express flight IX 184 de-boarded at 7.25 pm, the customs officials sensed something unusual and took the accused Virendra Kumar aside and scanned him thoroughly. Kumar then agreed to carrying the gold illegally and was taken into custody.

In a similar case last December, at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, a man in possession of 884 grams of gold paste valued at Rs 55 lakh was caught by the customs department. Capsules containing the gold being smuggled out of Sharjah were concealed in his rectum.

The accused Ratnesh's actions was deemed suspicious by customs authorities during the de-boarding process of Air India Express flight AI 184, which arrived at the airport from Sharjah. As a result, they took him aside and conducted a thorough search.

They found three gold capsules hidden in his rectum. Ratnesh was taken to court after confessing to smuggling the gold during interrogation and then jailed.