HYDERABAD: Gold smugglers are adopting innovative methods to vex authorities and keeping cops on their toes.
First it was gold stashed inside cell phones and DVD players, then came aluminum-coated gold deftly concealed in trolley bags and even inside undergarments.
Just when the authorities thought they had broken every code and exposed every method, the smugglers have now started mixing powdered gold in molten rubber and making supporting cushions inside shoes.
Last Wednesday, Mohammed Hussain and Mohammed Shadab landed at Rajiv Gandhi International airport in an Emirates flight from Dubai. During the screening of passengers, the hand-held metal detector beeped when pointed at the shoes of the duo. “Since most shoes have metal strips in them, it was not unusual,” said a customs official. But what caught attention were the weight of the boots and that the short duo looked abnormally tall in them.
“We realized that the cushion inside is two-three times thicker than ususal. So, we removed them for examination,” said an Air Intelligence official. Customs sleuths had the blocks heated to a high temperature. The rubber melted away, leaving some corrosive residue behind.
“The material was dipped in a concoction of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid, which removed sediments and left pure gold powder, weighing 3.3kg,” said a customs official.
During interrogation, both Hassain and Shadab, in their 30s, said that the shoes were given to them in Dubai by a contact, who identified them through WhatsApp.
After a thorough probe, customs sleuths say that smugglers in Dubai are mixing gold powder in molten rubber blocks. After it cooled, these are cut into pieces and placed inside shoes. The carriers are supposed to wear the shoes and deliver them to contact persons for a commission of Rs 20,000 per trip, apart from free airfare and hotel costs.
