Chennai Customs Seizes 9.46 kg Gold, Arrests Five in Emirates Crew Smuggling Bust

December 10, 2025 at 07:15 PM•1 min read

Chennai Customs arrested five, including an Emirates crew member, after seizing 9.46 kg of smuggled gold at Chennai airport.

Key Points

1Chennai Customs seized 9.46 kg of gold, valued at ₹11.5 crore, in a major smuggling bust at Chennai airport on December 9.
2An Emirates flight crew member arriving from Dubai was apprehended for concealing gold paste in Velcro bands around their body.
3Five individuals, including the crew member, three receivers, and one passenger, were arrested and placed in judicial custody.

Chennai Customs successfully dismantled a gold smuggling operation at Chennai International Airport, seizing 9.46 kilograms of gold valued at ₹11.5 crore. The operation led to the arrest of five individuals, including a crew member from a major international airline.

The syndicate was uncovered on December 9, when an Emirates flight crew member arriving from Dubai was found to be concealing ten packets of gold paste. These packets were strategically hidden within three Velcro bands worn around the individual's chest and waist. Following extraction, 9.46 kg of pure gold was recovered and subsequently seized under the provisions of the Indian Customs Act, 1962.

Further investigations led to the apprehension of four additional persons at a hotel located near the airport. This group comprised three individuals identified as receivers of the smuggled gold and one passenger who facilitated the illicit activity. All five suspects have since been presented before the Judicial Magistrate of the Special Court for Customs to be remanded into judicial custody.