A couple from Dubai has been caught at the Surat International Airport for allegedly trying to smuggle 28kg of gold paste concealed under their clothes into the country, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) said in a statement on Tuesday. CISF said the couple were spotted by a CISF intelligence staff member deployed in plain clothes at the international arrival area on Sunday when he spotted a middle-aged Indian couple at 10pm.
The Gujarati couple had landed at the airport on an Air India Express flight from Dubai. “The duo — Gujarati residents — caught the officer’s attention due to their unusual walking pattern and slight bulges around the abdominal area, which didn’t match the natural body contour,” the statement said. The CISF personnel then alerted a customs duty officer, who then conducted a search of the couple.
“The couple was both dressed in traditional attire – the man in a shirt and trousers, and the woman in a salwar suit. A total of 28 kg of gold paste was found expertly strapped around their midsections and upper torsos — 16 kg with the woman and 12 kg with the man. Based on concentration levels of the paste, officials estimate the pure gold yield to be over 20 kg. This is likely the biggest gold haul in the airport’s history,” an official aware of the matter said.