Man held at Delhi airport for bid to smuggle gold in machine parts

The passenger landed on Air India flight AI-2383 on November 15 and was flagged at the green channel exit, based on profiling

New Delhi

The man was questioned on basis of profiling and confessed to the crime. (Representative photo)

An Indian was arrested by the Customs department upon his arrival at the Delhi airport from Singapore, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 1.2kg of gold by concealing it amid spare parts of machines, officials said on Tuesday.

The passenger landed on Air India flight AI-2383 on November 15 and was flagged at the green channel exit, based on profiling.

Officials said the man identified himself as the chief executive officer of a firm that deals in machine spare parts. Although his baggage cleared X-ray screening and the door frame metal detector did not beep, Customs said they noticed inconsistencies in his behaviour and took him to the preventive room for questioning.

“During the interrogation, the passenger told officers he had come to clear a 10.8kg consignment of machine spare parts pending at the New Courier Terminal of the Air Cargo Complex. He later admitted that around 1200 grams of gold had been concealed inside the parts in the shipment,” an official said.

Customs said subsequently, they took the passenger and his cabin bag to the terminal, where the consignment had already been placed on hold. “The examination led to the recovery of 1.2kg of hard gold hidden inside five pieces of the spare parts,” the official said.