A man attempting to smuggle nearly a kilogram of gold through the Imphal Airport has been arrested by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).Mohammad Sharif, arrested on Monday, is a resident of Kozhikode, Kerala. He was caught upon his arrival at the airport on his way to New Delhi.

This came as CISF officials found his movement suspicious. So, he was later examined. On further investigation, it was found that he was hiding more than 900 grams of gold in the form of paste in his rectum. Subsequently, four packets of yellow metal paste, weighing about 909.68 gm, were recovered, the CISF said.

The seized gold, according to officials, is worth nearly Rs 42 lakh.

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“The accused was only a carrier of the gold paste and not its owner,” an officer at the Imphal airport customs department said on condition of anonymity. “Though the department is investigating his role, Mr Shereef, who ran a clothing business, has not been arrested in any such cases in the state in the past,” the officer added. 

Kerala is often the destination where smugglers arrive. 

Recently, customs officials at the Kannur Airport in Kerala arrested a couple who were smuggling 3 kgs of gold paste, worth Rs 14 crore, hidden inside their bodies.

According to officials, “smuggling gold in paste form is a new way that helps smuggle dodge metal detectors”. Although one cannot identify if its gold from photographs, the metal is later extracted using a chemical process. Those arrested earlier have confessed to it being the easiest way to smuggle the metal despite being high-risk. 

It is only experienced smugglers who can travel with so much gold in their bodies and still manage to make it happen without bleeding or getting caught. Usually their movement gives away.

There have been cases where smugglers have had gold paste painted on their jeans in Kerala.