Major Gold Haul At Delhi's IGI Airport: Indian Origin American National Arrested With 3.5 Kg Of Smuggled Bars

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Customs officials stationed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi have intercepted an American national of Indian origin carrying 115 smuggled gold bars. The contraband, weighing approximately 3.5 kilograms, was discovered hidden inside a uniquely modified belt, authorities confirmed on Saturday.

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In an official statement, senior Customs officials monitoring illegal trade patterns noted that this significant bust "directly correlates" with a sudden spike in gold smuggling attempts over the past week. This surge follows a recent policy shift that increased the Customs duty on gold imports from 6 percent to 15 percent, drastically altering illicit market dynamics and profit margins for smugglers.

Acting on precise intelligence inputs generated through risk-based passenger profiling, officers from the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) intercepted the traveler at the international arrival terminal. The passenger had landed in New Delhi from San Francisco on May 15 and was allegedly attempting to covertly navigate through the green channel to evade detection, the statement detailed.

"With the margin of profit per kilogram skyrocketing, international syndicates appear to have shown heightened desperation by deploying increasingly complex concealment methods," the statement said.

Smuggler apprehended at Ahmedabad airport after swallowing 135 grams of gold

In February, the Ahmedabad Customs Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) intercepted an incoming passenger from Abu Dhabi who was attempting to smuggle over 135 grams of 24-karat gold (valued at roughly ₹21.89 lakh) by swallowing it, according to official reports.

Acting on Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) profiling, AIU officers detached a male passenger identified as Sharukh after he arrived at Ahmedabad airport from Abu Dhabi on February 19 aboard Air Arabia flight 3L 111, a press release from the Ahmedabad Customs Department detailed.

During his initial interrogation, the traveler confessed to concealing metallic contraband deep inside his body by swallowing the items. Following this admission, and in accordance with a February 19, 2026 judicial order issued by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Ahmedabad, the passenger was immediately admitted to the local Civil Hospital for a thorough medical examination and further legal investigation.

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At the medical facility, physicians monitored the patient and successfully recovered three yellow-colored cylindrical capsules alongside a single spherical steel-colored ball during a bowel movement. The Civil Hospital formally confirmed the retrieval of the concealed objects in a medical report dated February 21, after which the patient was officially discharged into custody.

A government-approved valuer subsequently examined the recovered items and issued an official certificate verifying that the three cylindrical capsules consisted of 24-karat gold (999.0 purity) weighing exactly 135.200 grams. The gold carries a current market value of ₹21,89,564 and a tariff value of ₹20,17,801. Meanwhile, the fourth spherical item was found to be made of ordinary ferrous metal. All recovered objects were officially seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, due to the unlawful attempt to smuggle contraband into India via bodily concealment without a formal customs declaration.

During a subsequent physical search, AIU officers uncovered the 115 gold bars neatly concealed within the inner lining of a specially designed belt worn under the passenger's trousers. The confiscated bullion consisted of 24-karat purity (999.9) and weighed exactly 3,565 grams.

Customs authorities stated that the gold was being illegally brought into India as contraband and was officially seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962. Consequently, the passenger was placed under arrest in accordance with Section 104 of the same Act, the statement said.

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