MUMBAI: A businessman from Gujarat, who was feigning disability, was booked for allegedly trying to smuggle gold at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on Thursday . What left customs officials dumbfounded is that the accused, on realizing that he had been cornered, rose on his feet and later walked away independently after completion of the formalities.

The accused, Nimisha Gudhka who is from Jamnagar , had arrived from Dubai late on Wednesday and was trying to smuggle in eight gold bars gold weighing 660 gm worth Rs 19.8 lakh concealed in his trouser pockets and purse, said officials of the air intelligence unit of the customs department.Soon upon arrival, he told the officials at the airport that he needed a wheelchair and an attendant to exit from the airport premises.“It was a gamble he played. His presumption was we would be lenient towards him, considering his handicap,“ said an official.

The official said there was something “unusual and fishy“ about his body language and so Gudhka was asked taken aside for questioning. A bit of quizzing and he immediately confessed that he was carrying gold for his family and admitted that he did not suffer from any disability . As the value of the gold was not too much, the gold was seized and Gudhka was booked under the Customs Act and booked for smuggling charges. After that he was allowed to go. “When we told him he could go, he stood up at once and walked away non-chalantly , abandoning the wheelchair and without help from the assistant,“ said the officer.

Gudhka is in the electronics business and also deals with office furniture besides having a couple of factories in Gujarat. In another instance, customs officials arrested Ravikiran Gohel from Anand district, who had arrived from Bangkok , for smuggling gold worth Rs 60 lakh. Also, two unclaimed packets left in the toilet of an aircraft was seized.

