A passenger arriving from Jeddah via Mumbai was caught allegedly smuggling 869.5 grams of 24-carat gold concealed inside the tyres of a toy electric scooter at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, officials said on Friday.
Toy Electric Scooter As Gold Hideout: Customs Foil Smuggling Bid At IGI Airport
Acting on intelligence inputs, Customs officers intercepted the passenger at Terminal-1 and recovered 19 pieces of gold ingeniously hidden inside the scooter's solid tyres, with further investigation underway
Acting on intelligence inputs and passenger profiling, Customs officers intercepted the passenger at Terminal-1 of the airport after he arrived on August 6, an official statement said.
The passenger was travelling from Jeddah to Mumbai and onward to Delhi, carrying household goods along with an electric scooter as part of his checked-in baggage, the statement said.
According to the statement, during X-ray screening of the hand baggage and checked-in baggage, officials noticed suspicious images.
Although the passenger did not trigger any alarm while passing through the Door Frame Metal Detector (DFMD), a detailed examination of the electric scooter was carried out, it added.
The examination led to the recovery of 19 cut pieces of 24-carat gold weighing 869.5 grams (net weight), ingeniously concealed inside the solid core of the tyres of the electric scooter in an attempt to evade Customs detection, the statement said.
Customs officials have booked a case of gold smuggling, and further investigation is underway.
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