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In the interweaving of Indian aviation history and the intelligence methods of smuggling, vicious smugglers every now and then adopt such unique and shocking tactics that even top officials of law enforcement agencies get baffled. The teams of Customs and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) always keep a close watch on the most sensitive and strategic airports of the country so that any kind of illegal smuggling can be prevented. One such shocking and sensational case has come to light from Loknayak Jaiprakash Narayan International Airport of Patna, the capital of Bihar, which has stunned even the security agencies. During checking at Patna Airport, the officials caught a passenger who did not have gold bars or biscuits, but gold hidden in a completely different and unique form. The smugglers had hatched a unique conspiracy to smuggle the gold from abroad by molding it in some medical and strange form like a knee or an implant, the market value of which is estimated to be around Rs 2 crore. Let us delve deeper into this unique and shocking smuggling case and know how the DRI and Customs team exposed this vicious game.
On the day of the incident, the movement of passengers coming from international and domestic flights was continuing at Patna Airport like normal days. Based on intelligence inputs from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the Customs Department, the officials had set their sights on a few selected passengers. When a suspicious passenger was moving towards the green channel after deboarding a foreign flight, his gait and body language aroused suspicion in the minds of the security personnel. When the officers started physical screening of his luggage after general questioning, the metal detector started beeping continuously. Initially the officials thought that as usual the passenger might have hidden the gold biscuits in some secret part of his clothes, shoes or bag, but when he was thoroughly searched and the help of doctors or experts was taken, the truth that came out stunned everyone.
This new method adopted by smugglers proved to what extent they can go to escape the eyes of the law. Instead of keeping the gold in a normal form, this cunning traveler had specially molded it in such a way that it could look like any part of the human body or a medical device (such as a knee implant or an artificial joint). According to officials, the gold was melted or cast in special molds and arranged in such a way that it could not be easily detected during security checks or during simple physical inspection. The smugglers were hoping that the security agencies would be fooled by such a sensitive and medical looking form and they would easily be able to take out the gold worth crores from the airport. But the sharp eyes of alert DRI officers and modern scanner technology foiled this vicious ploy in a moment.
The total value of the gold seized in this major action taken by the intelligence agency DRI is estimated to be around Rs 2 crore according to the international market. This case of illegal smuggling of such a huge quantity of precious metal proves that smugglers are now trying to use airports like Patna as their new transit routes. On the basis of interrogation of the accused passenger, DRI is trying to find out which other states of the country or foreign locations are connected to this entire syndicate. Which mastermind was working behind this smuggling and where this consignment was to be delivered beyond Patna, all these aspects are being investigated in depth. Agency officials say that every person associated with this illegal network will be exposed and will be given the strictest punishment as per the law.
This unique incident at Patna Airport has once again shown that the agencies protecting the country’s security and revenue are fully prepared to face any cutting-edge challenges. No matter how cunning and new methods the smugglers adopt, their every conspiracy ultimately fails in front of the strength of technology and intelligence system. This unique case of gold smuggling has surprised not only the common people but also the security experts as to what extent criminals can be creative and vicious to commit the crime. After this action, security arrangements have been further tightened at Patna Airport and other major airports of the country so that any such new tactics can be easily suppressed in future and the economic system of the country can be kept safe.