Gold smugglers back in business in Hyderabad
As international flight operations resume from RGIA, smugglers use new modus operandi
Hyderabad: After a break, courtesy the Covid-19 pandemic, gold smugglers are back in business.
The moment international flights resumed operations from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Shamshabad, smugglers too have allegedly reactivated their contacts and are sneaking in gold from the Middle East. This time, they are trying a time-tested modus operandi in Hyderabad, that of secret pockets in trousers, jeans and other garments.
This is after the smugglers tried out at least half a dozen techniques, from luring tourists to smuggle gold from Dubai to Hyderabad, hiding the yellow metal in electrical gadgets, socks, shoes, trolley bags and even in the rectum. When all these modes were thwarted by Customs officials, airlines staff were lured and used to sneak the gold out of the RGIA after getting it either from Dubai or Riyadh.
After this cover was blown, they turned to passengers returning from the Umrah pilgrimage. This fell apart when officials nabbed 14 people in July 2019 after seizing gold weighing 6.56 kg worth Rs 2.17 crore from them.
Staying low with no international flights during the initial days of the lockdown, the smugglers appear to have thought out more methods, with recent arrests revealing gold concealed either inside the zipper of trousers, or in specially stitched secret pockets inside a pair of jeans.
On November 7, Customs officials nabbed a passenger arrived from Dubai at RGIA, who concealed 12 cut pieces of gold weighing 71.47 grams worth Rs 3.67 lakh inside the zipper of his jeans.
In two other cases reported on November 10 and 25, gold bars were hidden in secret pockets stitched along the waistline of the jeans. Officials seized 857.23 grams of gold, cut into small pieces and as bars, worth over Rs 34 lakh, in three such cases, including on a Vande Bharat mission flight as well.
Officials said constant surveillance on passengers arriving from the Middle East apart from observing the behaviour of a few flyers was enabling them to identify gold smugglers.
New concealing ways
• Hiding gold inside zipper of jeans or trousers
• Concealing in secret stitched pockets along waistline of jeans
• Earlier, tourists were used to sneak the yellow metal out of RGIA
• Gold in paste form was another mode
• Gold paste was hidden in gadgets, socks/shoes, bags and rectum
• Airlines staff were also used to get gold out of the airport
• Pilgrims were also exploited
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