The three Tamil-origin women who were flying from Colombo in a Sri Lankan Airlines flight were held after custom officials suspected them of smuggling.
Bengaluru: On Tuesday, customs officials at the Kempegowda International Airport detained four passengers returning to the country with a total of 700 grams of gold as they were being smuggled. The total worth of gold seized is said to be Rs 23.19 lakh, reports said.
About 496 grams of gold was found in the rectums of three women in the morning. According to the customs officials, the three Tamil origin women who were flying from Colombo in a Sri Lankan Airlines flight were detained after they came under suspicion by customs officials. After a detailed examination, the officials found that the trio carried gold paste wrapped in plastic covers in their rectum.
The trio hoped that the gold would pass through the metal detectors undetected as it was in the form of paste, but they were already under vigilance during passenger profiling. As customs officers grew suspicious, they questioned them, and later subjected the trio to a medical examination which proved their suspicions.
Similarly, a day earlier, an Andhra Pradesh man was caught with 200 grams of gold strapped in his body. The flier had reached Bengaluru from Kuwait in an Emirates flight.
In December, about 3 kg of gold worth Rs 1.45 crore was seized by customs officials after an alert. The gold was concealed in private parts of three persons flying in from Dubai, including one woman from Sudan. The woman from Sudan was allegedly carrying 1.3 kg of gold hidden in the form of biscuits. The other 1.4 kg of gold was found in a man's denim shorts which he was wearing under his trousers.
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