New Delhi : Customs officials at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport have seized 869.5 grams of 24-carat gold ingeniously concealed inside the tyres of an electric scooter and booked a case of gold smuggling.
According to Customs, the operation was carried out by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) on the basis of intelligence inputs and passenger profiling. A passenger travelling from Jeddah to Mumbai and onward to Delhi on IndiGo flight 6E-6133 dated August 6, 2026, was intercepted at Terminal-1 of IGI Airport.
The passenger was carrying household goods along with an electric scooter as part of his checked-in baggage. During X-ray screening of both the hand baggage and checked-in baggage, Customs officers noticed suspicious images.
Although the passenger did not trigger any alarm while passing through the Door Frame Metal Detector (DFMD), officials conducted a detailed examination of the electric scooter.
The inspection led to the recovery of 19 cut pieces of 24-carat gold, weighing 869.5 grams (net weight), which had been ingeniously concealed inside the solid core of the scooter’s tyres in an attempt to evade Customs detection.
Customs officials have registered a case under the relevant provisions of the law, and further investigation is underway.