7 smuggle Rs 2.1-cr gold in rectums; held at Indore airport

A consignment of 5.5 kg gold worth Rs 2.1 crore was seized from seven suspected smugglers at the airport here in Madhya Pradesh after they landed from a Dubai-Indore flight, a DRI official said on Saturday. All the accused, including a woman, had hidden the gold in a paste form in plastic pouches in their rectums and undergarments, he said, adding that they hailed from Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra's Thane district.

"Dubai-Indore flight AI904 landed at Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport half an hour past midnight on Saturday. We seized 5.5 kg gold worth Rs 2.1 crore from seven persons, including a woman," the official said. The accused travel on international routes frequently and have been caught in smuggling cases earlier as well, he added.

They had booked flights for Mumbai for Saturday morning, he said. A case has been registered under the Customs Act, 1962.