Gold Hidden in Underwear! Dubai Passenger Caught With ₹96 Lakh Gold at Ahmedabad Airport

Creative Smuggling Foiled: Customs Find Gold Hidden as ‘Fabric’ in Passenger’s Underwear.

Customs officials at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport have busted a major gold smuggling attempt, seizing gold worth approximately Rs.96 lakh from a passenger who arrived from Dubai. The accused was intercepted by officers of the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) after his suspicious behaviour and unusual movements inside the airport raised red flags.

A detailed search revealed a two-layered smuggling operation designed to evade routine checks. Officials first recovered two full gold bars and one cut bar of 24-carat purity, weighing 324.140 grams and valued at Rs.51.73 lakh, which had been concealed inside a purse kept in the passenger’s pocket.

 The probe deepened when officers conducted a thorough personal examination and discovered that the passenger had converted gold into a paste and hidden it inside his underwear—a method so deceptive that it initially appeared to be normal fabric. After chemical processing, 277.800 grams of pure gold worth Rs.44.33 lakh was recovered from the paste.

 In total, 601.940 grams of gold valued at Rs.96.06 lakh was seized. The passenger, who had arrived on SpiceJet flight SG-016, has been detained under provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and the contraband has been confiscated. Authorities have launched a wider investigation to identify the end recipients of the gold and to determine whether the accused was acting alone or as part of an organised smuggling network operating on the Dubai–Ahmedabad route.