Flyer on wheelchair held with Rs 36 lakh gold

NEW DELHI: A 50-year-old wheelchair-bound passenger was caught at Indira Gandhi International airport on Monday after he entered the premises to smuggle gold worth over Rs 36 lakh. He tried to create a ruckus, citing that he was on a wheelchair, but was taken into custody in time and handed over to the police.
Officials said that the man specially got a cloth belt made and wrapped it around his chest with three bars of gold stuffed in it to avoid detection. He tried creating a ruckus at the airport, protesting when he was frisked, but was brought under control by the staffers.

Officials from the Customs department said that on the basis of intelligence, their team at the airport booked him in a case of smuggling of gold.

Anubha Sinha, Joint Commissioner of Customs, IGI airport, said that a passenger with an Indian passport arrived at Terminal-3 from Dubai on Sunday and was intercepted by the Customs officers after he had crossed the green channel.

His personal search resulted in the recovery of three cut pieces of a gold bar weighing 1,200 grams in total, with a market value of almost Rs 36 lakh, which were concealed inside an ingeniously made broad cloth waist belt, which he had wrapped around his chest.

The passenger has been arrested. Police officers said that they are further investigating the matter.