Surat airport's largest-ever gold smuggling bid foiled: How did Gujarati couple hide 28 kg of pure gold in clothes?

In what officials are calling the biggest gold smuggling attempt in the history of Surat International Airport, a middle-aged Gujarati couple arriving from Dubai was caught with 28 kilograms of gold paste concealed under their clothes. While news wire agency said quantity of gold seized could be over 20 kg, ANI put the figures at 28 kgs.

According to agency reports, the couple landed at Surat on Air India Flight IX-174 from Dubai around 10 pm on July 20. A plainclothes CISF intelligence officer at the international arrivals area noticed their suspicious behaviour, particularly their unusual walking pattern and visible bulges around the abdomen that didn’t align with normal body contours.

Acting on instinct, the officer discreetly kept them under watch and alerted senior Customs officials. The couple—dressed in traditional Indian attire, the man in a shirt and trousers, and the woman in a salwar suit—was intercepted for a physical check.


What followed was a stunning discovery: 28 kilograms of gold paste expertly strapped around their midsections and upper torsos—16 kg on the woman and 12 kg on the man. The CISF confirmed that the paste was meticulously packed to mimic natural body shapes, making detection difficult without close observation.

“This is likely the biggest gold haul in the airport’s history,” the CISF said in an official statement. “Based on paste concentration, the estimated pure gold recovery is over 20 kilograms.”

Officials praised the success of the operation, attributing it to effective behavioural profiling and seamless coordination between CISF and Customs.

An investigation is currently underway to trace the origins and possible network behind the smuggling attempt.