Customs officials at Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport made a significant smuggling bust on Friday, recovering nearly 2.7 kilograms of gold worth over ₹4.26 crore hidden inside a speaker box in the lavatory of an IndiGo aircraft. According to reports from ANI, the seizure was made aboard IndiGo Flight No. 6E-1478 that had arrived from Dubai on June 12, 2026. The gold was valued at ₹4,26,89,325 in the domestic market. A video surfaced showing Custom officials detaching the wall-mounted speaker box and taking out the gold biscuits neatly wrapped in black tape.
Acting on intelligence inputs and suspicion, customs officers carried out a detailed search of the aircraft with the assistance of aircraft engineers. As reported by ANI, during the search conducted on IndiGo Flight No. 6E-1478 arriving from Dubai at SVPI Airport on June 12, 2026, officials discovered two pouches wrapped in black plastic tape hidden inside a speaker box located in the front lavatory. The wall speaker box, which is usually used for inflight announcements, was dismantled to reveal the concealed gold. Another video showed officials ripping the packaged plastic tape and taking out the gold bars.
According to officials quoted by ANI, the pouches contained 24 gold biscuits of 999.0 purity (24 carat) with a combined weight of 2,799.3 grams. The gold was of foreign origin and valued at ₹4,26,89,325 in the domestic market. The manner of concealment pointed to a carefully planned smuggling operation, with officials believing the gold was hidden by an unknown person aboard the Dubai-Ahmedabad flight.
Officials said the smuggler likely intended to leave the gold bars hidden inside the lavatory structure for a domestic passenger or a member of the ground crew to retrieve later. However, the plan failed as suspecting heightened security checks, the carrier appears to have abandoned the consignment, as no passenger came forward to claim the gold. The seized gold has been classified as unclaimed and confiscated under the Customs Act, 1962. As per ANI, Custom officials stated that "the manner of concealment indicates that the gold was concealed by an unknown person with the intention of smuggling it into India in violation of the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962." Ahmedabad Customs has launched a detailed investigation into the case.
The gold seizure comes amid a series of major drug interceptions at Indian airports. According to official data shared in Parliament, Customs and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials registered 549 drug seizure cases at airports between April and October 2025, with the confiscated narcotics valued at over ₹3,300 crore. On Thursday, a 29-year-old woman was arrested at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for allegedly smuggling 11.8 kg of hydroponic weed valued at ₹11.8 crore, while on Wednesday, DRI arrested another person at Chennai airport for allegedly smuggling five kg of crystal methamphetamine valued at approximately ₹5 crore.
