About 1.2 kilograms (about 2 pounds) of gold were confiscated from a male traveler who was trying to smuggle the gold bars using his rectum. The incident happened at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, India on Sunday at 1 am.
The traveler was a 36-year-old man who lived in the state of Tamil Nadu. Airport officials were skeptical about the man when they saw him walking in a funny and unusual manner.
According to Fox News, he was initially called in by the officials for questioning when his checked luggage contained LED lamps. It was then that the customs staff discovered that the lamps concealed 8 gold bars which weighed around .8 kilograms (around 1.7 pounds). The smuggled good were hidden inside the lamps.
The man was questioned if he had more gold but he persistently denied. However, when asked to step through a metal detector, it was found out that he kept 12 more gold bars in his rectal cavity that weighed around 1.2 kg.
Local officials already got information beforehand with regards to the smuggler. When his flight from Singapore landed, he was immediately flagged by the customs staff.
The value of gold in India is very high which is why smuggling gold to the country is very rampant. The Daily Mail reported that another male gold smuggler, who was not involved in the incident, stated that the maximum weight of gold that a smuggler can carry internally is 800g.
One customs agent expressed that a smuggler who conceals gold pieces inside his body is an expert. It's something that can't be done by a normal person.
"We practice carrying the gold and try walking and sitting normally to avoid customs officials," he said, "the maximum one can carry in the rear is up to 800 grams broken into pieces."
Airport officials said that the total worth of the 2 kilograms of gold( about 4 1/2 pounds) amounted to $88,000. The smuggler is now being held under investigation and has been detained.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
