Kerala man tries to smuggle gold powder in medical dressing, held

Thirty-five-year-old Abdul Kareem, of Malappuram in neighbouring Kerala, had mixed gold powder with a semi-solid substance and used it for the “medical dressing” on both his legs. He arrived by an Air Arabia flight from Sharjah at around 4.30 am. Acting on specific information that a passenger on the flight was smuggling in gold, the Customs officials carried out a thorough check of all the passengers. On suspicion, the officials questioned.

Kareem and a detailed examination resulted in the seizure of the gold in powder form. When asked the reason for  the bandage on his legs, Abdul told Customs officials that he was wounded in both legs while working in Dubai. The officials, however, removed the bandage and found gold in powder form mixed with a chemical substance and wrapped around his legs. A graduate, Abdul has been managing a housekeeping firm in Dubai for the last three years. Sources said he was a first-time offender and the smuggled gold was his own. He wanted to evade duty with the intention to make profit by selling it at a higher rate in the country, the sources added. The Customs officials took the services of a local goldsmith to extract the gold from the chemical substance. Further enquiries are on.