Indian customs officials at the Madurai airport had their biggest ever catch on Friday when they detained three Sri Lankan nationals, including two women, and seized 1,189 grams of gold rods worth around 3.6 million Indian rupees.

The three, who arrived from a Mihin Lanka flight, claimed themselves to be friends and followed a novel modus operandi.

They had hidden the gold rods under the handles of three trolley cases carried by them.

“This is the first time that we had come across such a modus operandi. The illegality was detected when their baggage was screened by the x-ray machine. We detained the three and recovered the entire gold,” said A.S. Meenalochani, Joint Commissioner of Customs.

So far, a majority of the instances of gold smuggling detected by the customs officials were related to rectum concealment but for a sole instance when an individual was found to have tied gold biscuits under his armpit with a handkerchief.

In those cases, the quantity of gold smuggled ranged between 100 and 400 grams.

All the smugglers had arrived from Colombo though the airport in Madurai was also connected to Dubai, considered to be the hub of gold trade.

This year, apart from keeping a check on gold smuggling, the Customs officials led by their Commissioner S. Faheem Ahmed, had also succeeded in preventing smuggling of Amphetamine, a narcotic substance, as well as Red Sanders which were hidden in the cricket kit bag of a passenger. – The Hindu