Lucknow, November 1: Acting on a tip-off, Lucknow police busted a gold smuggling racket at Chaudhary Charan Singh international airport in Uttar Pradesh. The passenger was nabbed by the police after he landed in Lucknow with 1.60 grams of gold concealed in the form of three capsules inside his rectum. His two handlers identified as Mustafa Raza and Mohammad Hussain were also apprehended. Customs officials had failed to detect the passenger and allowed the accused passenger to walk free from  the airport.

According to TOI report sub-inspector Jag Prasad, stationed at airport outpost said that sources had informed the cops that two suspects (Raza and Hussain) was frequently visiting the airport at unusual hours, especially during the arrival of international flights. On Saturday night, the police started surveying Raza and Hussain's movement as soon as the suspects arrived at the airport.

"One of the suspects started to match the identity of the courier with a picture in his phone. The two handlers were supposed to take the courier to Delhi via bus. As they stepped out of the Terminal 1 area and started walking towards the parking lot, we apprehended them", said sub-inspector, Jag Prasad. Gujarat: 48Kg Gold Paste Worth Over Rs 25 Crore Recovered From Three Passengers at Surat Airport; Four Arrested.

Raju Kumar Shah of Gopalganj, Bihar, the accused passenger arrived in Lucknow from Dubai  late on Saturday night, October 28. After customer clearance, he walked out of T1 area on October 29 (12:30 am). He was supposed to meet the two handlers Mustafa Raza and Mohammad Hussain who hailed from Rajasthan's Nagpur district. Gold Weighing 31.7 Kg Worth Rs 19 Crore Seized in Pan-India Operation, 11 Arrested.

The police found nothing in the passenger's luggage on inspection. "However, what prompted us to further quiz the suspects was the fact that two of them hailed from Rajasthan, while the other was from Bihar and they had never met before", said police.

After grilling the accused courier for several hours, he revealed to the police that he was carrying the gold in his rectum and had walked out of Terminal 1 area of the airport without any problem. The customs assistant commissioner later explained that it is difficult to detect gold when concealed in such areas.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 01, 2023 11:27 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).