Two arrested for attempting to smuggle gold by hiding it in wigs
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The authorities in India have foiled an attempt to smuggle gold into the country by two men by hiding it in their wigs.
The eagle-eyed customs officer stopped the pair as they tried to leave, because of their 'suspicious hairstyles.'
On closer inspection officials quickly discovered that gold paste packets weighing 698 grams had been hidden in the fake hair.
Peeling back the wigs revealed black packets filled with cash and gold that had been glued to the men's heads. The gold was also found stashed in their socks as well as their rectum.
Chennai Air Customs: 5.55 kg gold worth Rs 2.53 crore & foreign currency worth Rs 24 lakhs seized from pax arrivng from & departing to gulf under CAct & FEMA last 2 days. Gold concealed in wigs,socks,innerwear,rectum & aircraft .Six Arrested.#IndianCustomsAtWork pic.twitter.com/w1cBmugDYi
— Chennai Customs (@ChennaiCustoms) March 21, 2021
The money, along with chunks of gold, was pictured laid out on the counter as the crooks looked on red-faced.
Magroob Akbarali and Zubair Hassan Rafiyutheen were both later arrested in the terminal after arriving in Chennai, India, from Dubai.
Air Customs officials said they had seized gold and foreign currency worth a total of $382,943, or of £278,000, from southern India's Chennai International Airport on March 21.
In a statement, officials reportedly said that at Chennai airport in the last two days a total of 5.55 kilograms of gold had been seized from passengers arriving from and departing to Gulf countries.
The gold was hidden in various ways including under wigs, in passengers’ socks and in their rectum.
Six people in all have been arrested for trying to smuggle in gold.