US national arrested at Delhi Airport with 115 gold bars hidden in belt
Customs officials arrested a US national of Indian origin at the Indira Gandhi International Airport after allegedly seizing 115 gold bars weighing over 3.5 kg. The gold was concealed inside a specially designed belt and hidden pockets stitched into his trousers.
The passenger had arrived from San Francisco on an Air India flight and was intercepted by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Customs after officers developed specific intelligence based on risk profiling of passengers, according to a press statement issued by the department on 15 May 2026.
Officials said the accused attempted to cross the Green Channel “covertly” at the international arrivals terminal before they stopped him for inspection. During a personal search carried out in the presence of independent witnesses, customs officers recovered 115 gold bars of 24-karat purity allegedly concealed in the inner pockets of his trousers and in a specially modified belt.
The seized gold weighed 3,565 grams and was confiscated under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962. The passenger was arrested under Section 104 of the Act, and further investigation is underway, officials said.
Customs officials said the seizure comes amid a recent spike in attempts to smuggle gold into the country following the increase in customs duty on the precious metal from 6 per cent to 15 per cent. According to officials, the higher duty has sharply increased profit margins for smuggling syndicates, leading to the use of increasingly sophisticated concealment techniques.
Officials added that enforcement agencies have intensified surveillance at airports by deploying real-time passenger data analytics, advanced risk-profiling tools, and stricter physical screening measures to counter evolving smuggling methods.
