Indian man held for carrying 407 grams of gold in rectum

In a “first of its kind” crime, a Maharashtran man was caught on Monday smuggling 407 grams of 24-carat gold concealed in his rectum on a return flight from Dubai to India the same morning, reported Hindustan Times.

The accused, Deepak Kumar, had arrived in an Indigo flight, and was nabbed by the local office of Director Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the customs staff. The market value of the gold seized is estimated to be Rs1.1 million.



The DRI officials received a tip-off from the central team in Delhi, and Deepak was apprehended while he was trying to leave the airport. Earlier, he denied all the charges. He even refused to take beverages offered by the officials.  He then finally confessed to the crime.

He was taken to the washroom and the gold was retrieved from his rectum. The preliminary probe revealed that Deepak was an acting courier of a gang of smugglers. The DRI officials are now trying to locate and identify this gang.

Deepak has been taken into custody for interrogation and will be prosecuted later as per the Customs Act, which involves a hefty penalty and other penal action, said an official. This is the first such case reported in Chandigarh.

However, smugglers have tried other means to outwit the officials, including concealing gold as buttons of children’s garments or concealing it inside the suitcase’s steel structure. One of the smugglers was also caught holding gold under his tongue.



DRI officials said smugglers are using the Chandigarh airport as security is much stronger at the Delhi airport. In all, five cases of smuggling have been reported since the launch of international flights here on September 15 last year. The biggest seizure so far was that of 1.3kg gold worth about Rs3.7 million earlier this year.