A flight attendant's instinct sets off the alarm
It began with a hunch. Mid-flight, an air hostess noticed a passenger stepping into the aircraft toilet whose movements and facial expressions seemed distinctly out of place. Her suspicion sharpened when, drawing closer to the lavatory, she heard strange noises coming from inside.
She lost no time in alerting her captain. Treating the matter seriously, the captain in turn passed the information on to the relevant airport agencies so that action could be taken the moment the plane touched down.
The secret unravels after landing in Ahmedabad
Soon afterwards, the flight landed at Ahmedabad airport. As it came to a halt, customs and security officers boarded the aircraft. What was eventually pulled out of the toilet left everyone present stunned. The flight had arrived from Dubai, and roughly 2.8 kilograms of gold had been stashed away inside its lavatory. Customs went on to seize the entire consignment.
The real find: inside the speaker box
According to sources, the incident dates to 12 June. To comb through the toilet of the Dubai–Ahmedabad flight thoroughly, officials even called in engineers. During the search, their attention settled on the speaker box fitted in the front lavatory of the aircraft. When that speaker box was carefully examined, two packets wrapped in black plastic tape were found tucked inside.
24-carat gold worth crores
Officials said that on opening the packets, they recovered 24-carat gold biscuits. Every biscuit was of 999.0 purity, that is 24 carat. The recovered gold had a total weight of 2,799.3 grams, and its value was estimated at around Rs 4 crore 26 lakh 89 thousand 325. The customs department believes the meticulous manner in which the gold was concealed clearly pointed to an attempt to smuggle it illegally into India.
No claimant, so seized as unclaimed
According to customs, the gold had been hidden in a spot that neither passengers nor crew would ordinarily glance at. Officials further clarified that during the investigation no passenger, crew member or other individual came forward to claim the recovered gold. With no one staking a claim, the gold was treated as 'unclaimed' and seized under the provisions of the Customs Act 1962.
