Shahla, a resident of Kasaragod district, was arrested at Kozhikode international airport after arriving from Dubai. Shahla initially denied that she was a gold carrier and that she should be released. According to local media reports, Shahla was in Dubai last week to meet her husband and attend an interview with him.
Kerala Police arrested a 19-year-old girl for smuggling gold outside Kozhikode airport on Monday.
Shahla, a native of Kasaragod, had arrived at Kozhikode international airport from Dubai.
Through Customs, she had managed to escape with the gold she had smuggled.
Outside the airport, police waited
In spite of this, a Kerala Police team led by Malappuram Superintendent of Police (SP) Suchith Das, who had received specific information about Shahla's smuggling gold, was waiting outside the airport for her and arrested her.
Police believe that a rival gang leaked information to them.
Shahla initially denied that she was a gold carrier and should be released from police custody.
Even an examination of her luggage turned out to be futile.
Gold worth Rs 1 crore hidden in paste form
In spite of this, the cops did not give up and subjected her to a body examination where they discovered 1,884 grams of gold worth Rs one crore hidden in three packets that were stuck to her undergarments.
Shahla was a first-time gold smuggler, according to police.
Was paid Rs 60,000
The local media reported that Shahla, who is married, had gone to Dubai last week to attend an interview with her husband.
The gold was reportedly given to her by a friend, who paid her Rs 60,000 to become a carrier.
This was the 87th gold smuggling attempt caught by the Kerala Police outside Kozhikode airport.
In India, Kerala accounts for the majority of gold smuggling
In Kerala, gold smuggling has been rampant at all four international airports.
According to Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State for Finance, gold seizures by enforcement agencies hit a three-year high of 3,083 kg in November, with Kerala accounting for the majority of seizures.
This year's gold seizures across the country have increased compared to 2,383 kg seized in 2021 and 2,154 kg in 2020. In 2019, 3,673 kg of gold were seized.
In 2022 (up to November), 3,083.61 kg of gold was seized in 3,588 cases.
In Kerala, 690 kg of the yellow metal was seized in 948 cases in 2022, up from 587 kg in 2021 and 406 kg in 2020. In 2019, 725 kg were seized.
Aside from Kerala, Maharashtra (474 kg in 484 cases), Tamil Nadu (440 kg in 809 cases) and West Bengal (369 kg in 214 cases) also accounted for high gold seizures this year until November 2022.