HYDERABAD: Seven women caught smuggling gold to Hyderabad from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, in less than a week. The statistics indicate a new smuggling modus operandi. While all these women travelled to Jeddah on their way to pilgrimages, smuggling gangs exploited their innocence to lure them.
Officials admit that this is not the first time that women have been involved in smuggling. “But an increasing number of them getting caught is because of increased surveillance and coordinated inputs on smuggling gangs abroad,” Customs and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence officials said.
Also, in the absence of female security personnel, women travellers get quick clearances. Unlike male passengers, women are not thoroughly scrutinised without specific information on particular passengers.
Officials say they are training security personnel with a special focus on detecting women smugglers and carriers. “They are trained with emphasis on passenger profiling and screening, baggage screening and other related procedures,” customs officials said. On February 9, four women were caught with 2.5 kg of gold. On Friday, three women were caught smuggling gold bars weighing 300 gram in their socks. All these women had arrived at RGIA from Jeddah and had gone on pilgrimages. They claimed to have been lured into the smuggling net through commissions.