An Air India Express flight attendant has been arrested in Kerala on suspicion of attempting to smuggle nearly a kilogram of gold hidden in her rectum on a recent flight from Muscat, Oman.
Local media report that 26-year-old Surabhi Khatun was nabbed by officers from India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence as part of a sting operation after the young cabin crew member was identified as a possible gold smuggler.
After arriving at Kannur Airport following the three-hour flight from Oman, Khatun was apprehended, and a search revealed that she had allegedly hidden 960g of gold in compound form in her rectum.
Despite the risk of arrest, gold smuggling into India is big business, and Khatun’s case certainly isn’t the first time cabin crew operating in the country have been accused of helping gold smuggling gangs.
India is the second-largest consumer of gold in the global gold market, but high import taxes and demand for cheap gold mean that there’s a big market for gold smuggling into the country.
Dubai remains the number one city from where gold is smuggled into India, but in recent years, other Persian Gulf states like Oman, as well as Singapore, have risen in popularity among gold smugglers.
Gold smugglers still try to get most of their goods through big Indian airports like Delhi and Mumbai, but airports in Kerala are fast becoming new targets for gold smugglers.
In 2021, a veteran American Airlines flight attendant was arrested on suspicion of attempting to smuggle two gold bars, thousands of dollars worth of expensive jewelry and cash, as well as other expensive goods out of Argentina on a flight to Miami.
Laura Diana Schulz allegedly told police that the cash was money passengers had donated onboard AA flights as part of its partnership with the United Nations children’s charity Unicef.
