Customs Seizes Gold Worth Rs 3 cr from Couple at Chennai Airport

The Customs officials at Chennai airport have arrested a Myanmar couple and seized 1.970 kg of 24-carat gold bars valued at around Rs 3 crore, concealed inside their rectums after they arrived from Bangkok on a medical visa. 

The couple, aged over 40, had travelled from Yangon to Thailand before arriving in Chennai on a private passenger flight early on Saturday. Their claims of having arrived for medical treatment in Chennai, however, raised suspicion when they were unable to produce proper documents or explain the purpose of their visit satisfactorily.

The customs officials subsequently



subjected their baggage to a detailed search, but found nothing incriminating. As their suspicion persisted, the couple were taken separately to examination rooms and subjected to a thorough personal search, including by women officers in the case of the lady. 

During the examination, Customs officials detected concealed packages in the rectum of both passengers. On opening the packages, officials found gold bars of 24-carat purity. The gold recovered from the couple weighed 1.970 kg and had an international market value of Rs3 crore, according to Customs officials. The gold was seized and both passengers were arrested.