In a startling revelation, customs officials at Chennai Airport have uncovered a sophisticated gold smuggling operation orchestrated through an innocuous souvenir shop within the departure terminal. The syndicate, allegedly run by a YouTuber named Sabir Ali, utilized the shop as a front to smuggle a staggering 267 kilograms of gold, valued at ₹167 crore, over a span of just two months.
The operation came to light when authorities apprehended an employee of the shop with 1 kilogram of gold concealed in powder form inside his rectum. This discovery led to the unraveling of a well-coordinated modus operandi involving transit passengers bound for Sri Lanka. These passengers would reportedly hand over the smuggled gold to shop employees discreetly, often in airport lavatories, who would then transfer it to receivers outside the airport premises.
Sabir Ali, who rented the shop through a third-party agency contracted by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), employed seven individuals to manage the shop, all of whom were allegedly complicit in the smuggling operation. The employees, equipped with Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) identity cards, managed to evade regular security checks, facilitating the smooth passage of smuggled gold.
“The workers were trained to conceal gold in powder form in their rectums to avoid detection by scanners,” revealed customs officials investigating the case. They suspect the syndicate to have links across Chennai, Sri Lanka, and international locations, suggesting a well-funded network supporting their operations.
All nine suspects, including Sabir Ali, the shop employees, and transit passengers involved, have been remanded in judicial custody following their arrest. Authorities continue their investigation to identify additional accomplices operating behind the scenes.
Customs officials remain vigilant as they probe further into the syndicate’s financial backers and operational intricacies, underscoring the challenges posed by organized smuggling networks exploiting loopholes in airport security protocols.