A woman arriving in Ahmedabad from Abu Dhabi was stopped by Customs officers who discovered nearly 729 grams of undeclared gold jewelry valued at Rs 98.78 lakh hidden in her purse and clothing. The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Ahmedabad Customs made the seizure after the passenger landed at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA) on an IndiGo flight from Abu Dhabi.
Customs officials revealed that the interception was based on intelligence gathered through passenger profiling. Upon thorough inspection, officers found various gold jewelry items like bangles, necklaces, chains, anklets, earrings, and rings. The seized jewelry included 710.9 grams of 22-carat gold and 18.1 grams of 18-carat gold, totaling 729 grams with an estimated value of Rs 98,78,715.
The jewelry was allegedly concealed in the passenger’s handbag and worn beneath her clothes in an attempt to avoid Customs scrutiny. The passenger, a resident of Hyderabad, had her entire consignment confiscated under the Customs Act, 1962. Authorities are conducting further investigations to ascertain the gold’s source and intended destination.
This incident is part of a recent surge in gold smuggling cases at Ahmedabad airport. In a previous case, Ahmedabad Customs discovered 2.799 kg of foreign-origin gold biscuits worth over Rs 4.26 crore hidden inside a speaker box on an IndiGo flight from Dubai. As no one claimed the gold, it was seized as unclaimed property. The Customs officials have also uncovered other smuggling methods, such as rhodium-coated gold jewelry and gold concealed in modified baggage components, indicating the evolving tactics used by smugglers to avoid detection.
