The Indian national allegedly hid 895.20 gm of gold in paste form in his underwear.
Gold worth Rs 43.55 lakh was recovered from inside the undergarments of a passenger back from Sharjah in the latest gold smuggling case busted by Hyderabad customs team.
The Indian national allegedly hid 895.20 gm of gold in paste form in his underwear. Visuals indicate that the gold paste was put into plastic pouches that were then hidden in the undergarment. A case of smuggling has been registered and further investigation is in progress, the officials said.
Of late, customs officials have busted quite a few smugglers who employed innovative ways to get the precious metal into the country without being detected.
Days back, officials at the Kannur airport in Kerala seized 302 gm of gold worth Rs 14 lakh. The passenger allegedly tried to smuggle gold in paste form by hiding it between layers of the pair of pants he was wearing.
In July, Chennai customs caught a man who carried about 810 gm of gold worth over Rs 40 lakh in his rectum from Dubai.
The gold was carried in the form of four bundles of gold paste.
According to Customs rules, male Indian residents living abroad for over one year have a duty-free allowance to bring up to 20 gm gold worth not more than Rs 50,000 in their baggage. The duty-free allowance for women is 40 gm worth not more than Rs 1,00,000. This allowance, however, applies only to gold carried in the form of ornaments.
Other passengers who bring gold from abroad have to pay duty at the rates set by the government. Those who have lived abroad enjoy some relaxations.