Man travelling from Bangkok held at IGI for smuggling ₹6.08 crore gold necklace

A man was arrested at IGI Airport's T3 for smuggling a diamond-studded gold necklace worth ₹6.08 crore after arriving from Bangkok, customs officials said on Sunday.

Customs officers booked the passenger on February 12 based on profiling, suspecting him of smuggling the high-value jewellery.

Delhi Customs said in a post on X that a thorough baggage check and personal search of the passenger led to the recovery of a 40-gram diamond-studded gold necklace valued at ₹6,08,97,329 ( ₹6.08 crore).

The seized gold necklace has been confiscated under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962, while the passenger was arrested under Section 104, officials said, adding that further investigation is underway.

On February 5, customs officials at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport seized gold coins worth around ₹7.8 crore from two passengers who had arrived from Milan.

The duo, both residents of Jammu and Kashmir, were intercepted upon arrival. While an initial baggage scan showed nothing unusual, a detailed personal search led to the discovery of two specially designed waist belts.

The belts, hidden under their clothing, contained gold coins wrapped in plastic envelopes.

The customs department recovered a total of 10.092 kg of gold coins, confirming the seizure in an official post on X.

The two passengers were detained for further investigation, with authorities looking into the source and intended destination of the smuggled gold.

Earlier in December 2024, Customs officials at Delhi airport seized over 400 grams of gold hidden inside the bodies of three Uzbekistani men.

The accused were intercepted upon their arrival from Almaty, Kazakhstan, at IGI Airport, the Customs Department said.

Noting their “unusual behaviour,” officials conducted a personal search. During questioning, they admitted to concealing eight irregularly shaped solid gold pieces in their rectum cavity, the department said in a post on X.

They voluntarily ejected the gold, which had a total weight of 439 grams, it added.