The Customs Department seized gold worth ₹66.93 lakh from a passenger on a flight arriving from Bangkok at Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport in Lucknow on Sunday.
The Customs Department has confirmed the seizure; but the details regarding the modus operandi of smuggling remain undisclosed.
An official of Lucknow airport on condition of anonymity said, “The surge in gold smuggling at Lucknow Airport is accompanied by a parallel increase in the smuggling of cigarettes. There has been a rise in seizures, with goods worth crores of rupees confiscated monthly. In the past month alone, seizures amounting to ₹4.16 crore have been recorded, indicating the scale of the issue.”
The official said, “Smuggling techniques vary, with smugglers resorting to ingenious methods to evade detection. From concealing gold within the handles of coffee machines and trolley bags to resorting to more invasive measures such as hiding gold in the rectum, smugglers employ a range of tactics.”
Despite stringent vigilance measures, gold smuggling is becoming a big challenge at Lucknow Airport. The officials acknowledge that only a fraction, estimated at 10 to 15 percent, of the smuggled gold is intercepted. The official said, “Smugglers continue to innovate, exploiting various avenues such as concealing gold within clothing, electrical appliances, and even within the soles of shoes or elastic bands of underwear. We have to remain alert whenever the international flights arrive in Lucknow.”