Man held for bid to smuggle two gold bars at airport

Akash Ghai

Tribune News Service

Mohali, July 10

A 36-year-old man was nabbed at the Chandigarh international airport at Mohali while attempting to smuggle two gold bars, which he had hidden in his orifice, today.

The accused, Deepak, a resident of Ulhaas Nagar, Thane, Maharashtra, flew in from Dubai in the morning and landed at the local airport when he was nabbed by a joint team of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the Customs Department here.

Sleuths of the DRI’s regional office at Chandigarh had a tip-off in this regard. Deepak had hidden 24-carat gold bars, weighing 407 gm, worth Rs 11 lakh, in his orifice.

According to sources, the accused first feigned ignorance about the gold bars. Later, he confessed to his crime following which the team recovered the gold bars.

“This is the first case of concealment of gold bars in the body witnessed at the local airport,” said the sources.

Deepak was a carrier and was to get Rs 8,000 for his services. “Deepak is a professional carrier. He has already made 15 to 20 short trips to different countries in the past month and a half,” said the sources.

Legal action has been initiated against the accused after booking him under the Customs Act, 1962.