Two held with smuggled gold worth ₹42 lakh

New Delhi: Customs officials at the Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport arrested two Indian passengers for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold

New Delhi: Customs officials at the Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport arrested two Indian passengers for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold worth ₹42 lakh. Officials said the gold was concealed inside a bear shaped audio speaker. The passengers were arrested Tuesday from Terminal 3 on their arrival from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

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According to officers, the two men were intercepted following a tipoff. An officer, who did not wish to be named, said the two men were asked to cooperate for a detailed baggage checking and frisking.

“When their luggage was passed through X-ray scanner, we spotted gold hidden in a handbag and some gold bars concealed in an audio speaker that they were carrying. The audio speaker was dismantled and we recovered seven gold bars worth ₹21.11 lakh. From the bag, we recovered seven gold bars worth ₹20.97 lakh,” the officer said.

Jayant Sahay, additional commissioner, customs, said the two men were arrested and the recovered gold was seized. Sahay said one of the men also admitted to having smuggled in gold worth ₹10.5 lakh previously.