An intricately designed front for a heist of gold has been exposed as the ostensibly harmless souvenir shop within Chennai airport. Nine persons were detained by the customs department’s Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) on Thursday; they are all allegedly connected to a global organization that smuggles gold.
The proprietor of the store, Sabir Ali, his staff, and two transit patrons are among those detained.
Sabir Ali, who also owns the ShoppingBoyz YouTube channel, is accused of using the store to smuggle an incredible 267 kilograms of gold—worth Rs 167 crore—during the course of just two months. This brought in a commission of Rs 3 crore for the smuggling network. According to reports, Ali got Rs 70 lakh to open the store in the airport departure lounge from a heroin dealer based in the United Arab Emirates.
“Two months ago, Sabir Ali leased the store by paying a substantial amount to Vidvedaa PRG, the outside firm that Airports Authority India (AAI) hired. “As a front, he opened a souvenir shop and hired seven young people to run it,” said R Srinivasa Naik, the principal commissioner of customs at Chennai airport.
A few days earlier, when one of Ali’s subordinates was apprehended by customs officials after being found in possession of one kilogram of powdered gold, the operation started to fall apart. After a thorough investigation revealed a well-organized smuggling network including the shop’s employees, which had previously been thought to be an isolated incident.
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These workers frequently got over security checks by using their Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) identity cards, which made it easier to smuggle gold into the airport. After that, they would provide the gold to smugglers posing as travelers.
“In order to evade scanner detection, the personnel have been trained to conceal gold in the form of powder in their rectum. The plan is well-executed and the network is well-oiled, a customs official told Times of India.
The AIU overheard the gang’s phone calls, which revealed that they had smuggled 267 kg of gold that had arrived from Singapore and Gulf countries. A study by the authorities to find out how the smugglers got their BCAS identity cards suggests that there may be more corruption going on within airport security procedures.
