MUMBAI: Two foreign nationals with USD 90,000 and more than 2.5kg of gold paste concealed in books and undergarments were arrested in two separate operations at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, an official said on Tuesday.
A man from Azerbaijan traveling to Sharjah, was intercepted by the customs team on Sunday and USD 90,000 worth Rs 73 lakh was recovered from his possession, the official said. During the security check, officials intercepted the man who hid money in the books. A video shared by the authorities, shows officials running through the pages of a book and finding 100 dollar notes cloaked inside two books. Reportedly, they seized a total of 73.5 lakhs INR from one of the flight passengers.
In a similar interception, a Palestinian who arrived from Dubai was caught with gold more than 2.5 kg in weight valued at Rs 1.30 crore concealed on his undergarments.
Relevant cases have been booked agaisnt the duo and probe is under way added custom authorities.
Smugglers are resorting to sevaral bizzare techniques to smuggle gold, money, drugs and other custom allocated materials in the country. From gold powder mixed with chocolate powder to cocaine concealed in buttons of a kurta, the list of such shocking and unusual smuggling methods is endless!