CHENNAI: A man suspected to be a courier for a gold smuggling ring, was detained at the airport, after customs sleuths found 1.2 kg of gold biscuits in his rectum. According to sources, members of the Air Intelligence Unit of Customs stopped Yashwanth (32), whose passport had him pegged as a resident of Choolaimedu, based on specific information.
He had just arrived in the city from Sharjah on Air Arabia G9471 flight, that landed at 3.40 am on Sunday. Carrying a large quantity of any contraband in a person’s rectum causes a good amount of discomfort - and this was obviously the case with Yashwanth as well. Officials took him aside and subjected him to a whole body search as well as a scan to identify where the contraband had been hidden.
Even they were a little surprised to find that the gold was in the form of 3 biscuits, wrapped in a plastic cling film and concealed in his rectal space. The gold was removed endoscopically and was taken as evidence. “Normally, people who carry gold in their rectums opt for smaller quantities, which is why we were surprised that he had more than a kilo of gold,” said an official, ahead of the interrogation that he was subjected to. Sources added that he confessed to being a mere courier for a gang and that customs was attempting to get to the actual instigators of the smuggling outfit.