Two men from Manipur have been arrested for attempting to smuggle gold valued at Rs 1.34 crore at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, the customs department reported on Friday. The suspects, both around 19 years old, were detained upon their arrival from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday.
The gold, weighing 1.8 kg, was concealed in a chemical paste and hidden in the men’s rectum. The customs department confirmed the seizure of the gold and stated that the value of the smuggled metal is estimated at Rs 1.34 crore.
This arrest follows a similar incident in December 2024, where another individual from Manipur was apprehended at the same airport for attempting to smuggle gold in a similar manner. In that case, customs officers discovered three oval-shaped capsules containing a yellow chemical paste, which, after extraction, revealed a 951-gram gold bar worth approximately Rs 70 lakh.
Both suspects have been taken into custody as investigations continue.