Mumbai: The Air Intelligence Unit of Customs on Monday arrested a man who had smuggled gold valued at Rs 85 lakh from Sharjah. The accused had swallowed 12 gold pieces on his arrival at the airport. He was taken to the hospital where the gold pieces were fished out by the doctors during his stay. The accused told the investigators that he was carrying gold for his friend for a free Sharjah trip promised by the friend.

The arrested accused has been identified as Juber Alam (24), a resident of Rampur, Uttar Pradesh.

About The Case

According to the Customs sources, on January 05, Juber had arrived from Sharjah to Mumbai and was intercepted by AIU officers on the basis of suspicion. Examination of his baggage and personal search resulted in 725 grams of gold dust. During questioning Juber admitted that he had swallowed some gold pieces before his arrival in Mumbai.

"To check body concealment Juber was taken to x-ray room at the airport. Since x-ray of his body revealed concealment of gold pieces in his body, he was then taken to a local court for permission for his medical examination to extract gold pieces from his body," said an agency source.

He was then brought to J.J. Hospital where he was under the monitoring till Sunday. During these 15 days, at least 60 Customs personnel were deployed to guard and monitor his movements. The doctors fished out 12 gold melted pieces weighing 456 grams from Juber's body. The Customs had seized gold totally valued at Rs 85.91 lakh from Juber after which he was arrested on Sunday, sources said.

"It is learnt that Juber has made several visits to abroad in the past and there is possibility that he might have indulged in smuggling activity. The modus-operandi used in the case shows involvement of some organised smuggling racket and bigger nexus which needs to be investigated," the Customs official said.