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Customs nabs 2 women smuggling 16.5kg gold into India at IGI airport
Two Uzbek women were detained at Indira Gandhi International Airport for attempting to smuggle 16.5kg of gold worth ?8.16 crore ($1.1m) into India from Tashkent. The women were apprehended on the basis of intelligence inputs and the gold was discovered after one of the women abandoned a bag at the customs arrival hall.
New Delhi: Two Uzbek women were apprehended at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) for allegedly trying to smuggle 16.5kg of gold into the country earlier this week, officials said.
The accused were intercepted after their arrival from Tashkent in Uzbekistan on Tuesday. The value of the seized gold is ₹8.16 crore, news agency PTI cited customs officials as saying.
In a statement, the Office of the Commissioner of Customs said the two women were apprehended on the basis of intelligence inputs.
“On the basis of intelligence that nationals from a Central Asian country would be travelling to Delhi by HY 421 flight with a sizeable quantity of foreign origin gold, the Customs Officers mounted strict vigil…,” joint commissioner Praveen Kumar Bali said in the statement.
“One passenger was identified... The said passenger was intercepted, however, the search of her baggage and person did not reveal any contraband,” he added.
Bali said that a second passenger was then identified on the basis of the same intelligence and was “found to be moving around suspiciously”. According to PTI, the second woman is the granddaughter of the first woman passenger.
“...when she attempted to cross the green channel, she too was intercepted. During her baggage and personal check, nothing incriminating could be found… was allowed to go out,” he said.
Subsequently, officials received a fresh input that the second woman had abandoned her bag at the customs arrival hall, amid fears of getting caught. The bag was found near a conveyor belt where the second woman was seen moving around, the statement said.
“... the bag was opened, which led to the recovery of around 16.5 kilograms of gold in the form of chains etc,” the official said.
“...Vigorous efforts were made to trace the passenger. Suspecting that the offender might try to flee the country, a team of customs officers was immediately deputed to the departure side of the airport,” he added.
The official said that after an intense manhunt, the second passenger, who was proceeding to board a plane to Almaty in Kazakhstan, was detained.
“During interrogation, the passenger confessed to having abandoned the bag… Based on her inputs, the first passenger, who was the main suspect, was also apprehended,” the official said.
