Man who hid gold in rectum held in Varanasi

LUCKNOW: Custom officials arrested a passenger for smuggling over 670 gm of 22 carat gold by concealing it in his rectum, at Varanasi airport on Tuesday.

The passenger was apprehended after customs sleuths saw the accused walking strangely while heading to immigration counter for clearance.
According to customs, 671.9 gm of gold worth Rs 34.36 lakh was seized. "Gold was concealed inside the passenger's rectum in the form of three black capsules," said a senior official.
"The accused is the alleged carrier of a Delhi-based gold smuggling cartel. He was offered some money to smuggle the gold from the Middle East to India," said the source.
The passenger arrived in Varanasi in Air India express flight IX 814 from Sharjah. From Varanasi he was supposed to hand over the gold to local contacts who would have taken the smuggled contraband to the national capital.
"The accused had concealed the gold in rectum for more than six hours, including fours inside the flight. The passenger was walking strangely when he queued up for immigration clearance. His profile did not match with a passenger who would visit Sharjah for merely a tour. He was brought out of the queue and was interrogated," said the source.
The passenger was presented before the chief judicial magistrate (economic offences) for judicial custody.