delhi

Updated: Apr 08, 2019 09:07 IST

The number of cash and gold smuggling cases busted at the Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport has been increasing every year, according to data from the customs department.

The data showed that cases of gold smuggling saw a three-fold increase in the past three years. As per the data accessed by HT, 26 cases of illegal cash seizures were reported from the IGI airport in the financial year (FY) 2016-2017 which went up to 31 in 2017-2018 and then to 64 in FY 2018-2019.

Additional commissioner of customs (IGIA) said that the cash seized also included foreign currency. The number of persons arrested with illegal cash too increased from 10 during 2016-17 to 54 last year.

Similarly, the data also shows a spurt in gold smuggling cases. In 2016-2017, gold smuggling cases busted at the Delhi airport was 95, which grew to 253 in the next fiscal of 2017-2018.

The additional commissioner said that, over the last fiscal, the customs department has busted smugglers who have tried various means to sneak in or travel out of the country with illegal gold and cash.

“In one case, a young Russian woman was caught with two kg gold bars concealed in her shoes,” the officer said.

“She was coming in as a tourist from Bangkok. She had an itinerary of different tourist destination in India so that she can dodge the customs. In another case, a Sri Lankan passenger arrived at the Delhi airport posing as a domestic passenger. He changed his flight at the transit area in Chennai but we caught him with around 1.4kg gold concealed under the soles of his shoes,” the customs officer said.

Gold smugglers have also tried using elderly passengers as carriers.

“In two different instances, two old age persons coming on wheelchairs were caught carrying 1.5kg gold each. They had worn specially designed vests inside their trousers,” the officer said.

In some cases, the currencies were also found concealed inside the leaves of news papers, in between gift wrappers and even in sole of footwear. In one case, foreign currency was found concealed by an alleged smuggler in his rectum,” the additional commissioner said.

Further, the customs department at Delhi airport have also caught travellers smuggling commercial items as high end watches, silver jewellery and restricted or prohibited items like drones.