BENGALURU: It is known that Indian Customs officials are trained well how to identify passengers trying to smuggle in gold in their rectum. What isn’t known is that the smugglers also undergo rigorous training for six months before they finally execute the task.

Those who failed to hoodwink ‘gold retrievers’ at the airport have revealed their story of “strict training” regimes and rules from their rulebook. Especially on how to conceal items inside the rectum. “From coffee mugs, lunch boxes, silver foil under sandals, buttons, smugglers use all possible objects to conceal the contraband. But we are trained to identify them from their behaviour, eye movements, walking style, to even how they sit or stand,” said an official from the Customs Department at Kempegowda International Airport.

Most of the time, smugglers are arrested despite their best efforts, say officials. According to Customs data, the rectal cavity is the preferred place to conceal gold, to avoid detection by officials.  “This is a desperate attempt as we have ensured that all efforts to conceal gold by other methods have been stopped. But many forget that we are also trained in behaviour analysis,” the officer explained.

Taught to insert, remove

In a recent incident, during screening, officers suspected that gold was hidden in the  lower abdomen region of a passenger. When they threatened to remove the objects by surgery, the passenger agreed that there were gold bars and surprisingly, ejected them himself quite easily.
“It was surprising the way he removed five gold bars from his body through his rear-end. He had kept them inside for 24 hours. Inserting and removing bars is not only dangerous but also not easy. It needs a lot of training,” said the officer.

Doctor’s role

Arrested smugglers say there is always a doctor present during training. The doctors reportedly explain to them the human anatomy, and show where the gold would be when stuffed inside. It is doctors who normally insert the gold into the body, explained an officer.“They wrap the gold bars in cello tape. They then put nearly 250gm of butter over it and insert it in their rectum,” the official added.

A smuggler recently arrested at KIA reportedly revealed that during training, which happens regularly, they are taught how to conceal smaller items first, and once they get used to it, carry bigger ones. “They carry out dummy runs for almost six months before actually executing the task,” he said.  Customs officials also said that the people they nab are mere carriers who are paid `20,000 to `40,000 for every
successful trip.

The carriers are trained how to sit for hours to be ready for their journey. The one who takes up this task has to be an expert, a senior officer said. “Not everyone can move with ease with gold pieces in their body. We often spot discomfort during profiling and nab them. Gold concealed in the body is detected by door frame metal detectors or by body scanners,” said a DRI officer.