Chennai Customs cracked a transit gold syndicate that involved passengers, airline ground staff, receivers and seized 2.57 kg of gold worth Rs 2.5 crore at Chennai airport.
After the Chennai Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) gave information, surveillance was increased in the transit area of the airport on August 17 and 18. The surveillance team suspected two Sri Lankan passengers with a rather unusual travel route who arrived at the airport at 2 a.m. on August 18. .
The team intercepted a contract ground handling staff when he tried to exit the arrival hall of the international terminal. When they examined him, they found him to be carrying three black-taped, unusually heavy cylindrical balls. The staff admitted that they were balls of gold paste which a Sri Lankan passenger gave inside the washroom of the transit area.
Customs officials, then, interrogated three Sri Lankan transit passengers and two of them admitted that they had hidden gold paste in the rectum. “A detailed search, including body scans conducted under Section 103 of the Customs Act, 1962, resulted in the recovery of three more cylindrical balls of gold from one of the passengers. Thus, a total of six cylindrical balls of gold paste weighing 2576 grams of 24K purity gold valued at ₹2.5 crores (approx.) were recovered from the gang,” a press release said.
The surveillance team deployed the airline staff as bait and apprehended two Indian nationals as well — a handler and a receiver outside the airport. Totally, five persons were arrested, and the team seized gold under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962.
Published – August 19, 2025 09:56 pm IST
