Pune: After concealing gold in the handles of trolley bags, hotplates and even electronic items over the years, smugglers have now started hiding the metal in babies' diapers.
On Sunday, the customs authorities at the Pune airport recovered gold worth almost Rs 18lakh that was concealed as diaper buttons from a male passenger coming from Dubai.
The passenger, who hails from Mumbai, was caught with a total of 48 diapers in his luggage. A close check revealed that the buttons on the diapers were indeed made of gold.
"The passenger had come to Pune from Dubai on the SpiceJet flight number SG-52, which had landed at 4.34 am. At this moment, the identity of the passenger cannot be revealed. The baggage scanners spotted something metallic when his luggage was being checked in here. When the luggage was opened, we found 48 diapers. As the passenger was travelling alone, we got suspicious and a close check revealed that the buttons fixed to the diapers were made of gold. This is the first-of-its-kind catch at Pune airport," an officer told TOI.
"The total weight of the recovered gold was 606.83g. There were 288 gold pieces, most of them weighing roughly 2.5g. The gold was seized under the reasonable belief that there was an attempt to smuggle it into the country, and it was liable for confiscation under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962. The passenger has admitted to possession, carriage, concealment and recovery of the gold. Further investigations are on," he added.
12/12/17 Joy Sengupta/Times of India
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On Sunday, the customs authorities at the Pune airport recovered gold worth almost Rs 18lakh that was concealed as diaper buttons from a male passenger coming from Dubai.
The passenger, who hails from Mumbai, was caught with a total of 48 diapers in his luggage. A close check revealed that the buttons on the diapers were indeed made of gold.
"The passenger had come to Pune from Dubai on the SpiceJet flight number SG-52, which had landed at 4.34 am. At this moment, the identity of the passenger cannot be revealed. The baggage scanners spotted something metallic when his luggage was being checked in here. When the luggage was opened, we found 48 diapers. As the passenger was travelling alone, we got suspicious and a close check revealed that the buttons fixed to the diapers were made of gold. This is the first-of-its-kind catch at Pune airport," an officer told TOI.
"The total weight of the recovered gold was 606.83g. There were 288 gold pieces, most of them weighing roughly 2.5g. The gold was seized under the reasonable belief that there was an attempt to smuggle it into the country, and it was liable for confiscation under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962. The passenger has admitted to possession, carriage, concealment and recovery of the gold. Further investigations are on," he added.
12/12/17 Joy Sengupta/Times of India
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