A PASSENGER on a flight from Bahrain to India has been arrested for trying to smuggle gold inside chocolate and chewing gum wrappers.
The Indian passenger had tried to bypass Customs officers at Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore, with 384.1 grams of gold worth around BD6,640, according to the Indian daily newspaper Deccan Herald.
His arrest was announced on Thursday and he had travelled from Bahrain onboard Gulf Air flight GF282.
“Smugglers presume Customs here will not check chocolates or chewing gum, which are part of most passengers’ baggage coming from abroad,” said Bengaluru additional Customs commissioner Harsh Vardhan Umre.
“But we continue to prove them wrong.”
The Customs unit at Kempegowda International Airport said previously that the majority of gold seized in May was carried by passengers arriving from Malaysia and Bahrain.
Last month the GDN reported that ignorant passengers from Bahrain were being used as carriers to smuggle gold into India.
It followed Customs officials in different Indian airports foiling several smuggling attempts, seizing gold worth thousands of dinars.
In May alone, 1.727kg of gold worth more than BD30,000 was seized from five international passengers flying into the airport.
Among the travellers was a passenger from Bahrain who had hidden gold pieces inside a Bluetooth speaker set.
Returning Indian male passengers are allowed a duty-free gold allowance of 20g, subject to a maximum value of Rs50,000 (BD278).
The allowance for a female passenger is 40g, subject to a maximum value of Rs100,000 (BD556).
However, the allowance is applicable only on gold jewellery, while any other form of gold is subject to Customs duty.
A passenger is allowed to carry up to 1kg of gold upon payment of Customs duty.
Gold smuggling from Gulf countries reportedly picked up after the Indian government raised import duty on the precious metal in 2014.
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