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The gold was hidden in the cylinder (right) of the motor of the car washing machine

Mumbai: Man hides gold in washing machine, gets caught by customs 

Kerala native attempting to bring in 2 kg gold in the machine’s motor was intercepted by vigilance team along with handler

When Ahamad Thameez invested in the portable car washing machine, he may have assumed that he will get the better of the customs department by using its motor to stow away gold worth Rs 60.91 lakh. But no such luck, the Kasargod, Kerala native was caught on Saturday by the Airport Intelligence Unit (AIU) on his arrival from Dubai by the Emirates Airways flight EK 506. 

So how did he do it? Thameez concealed the cylindrical-shaped gold bar - weighing 2.25 kg - in a hollow iron shaft that forms the central part of the motor. Not just this, the vigilance authorities also found two iPhone 7S worth over Rs 1.20 lakh from his hand baggage, which were also seized under the provisions of the Customs Act (1962) based on the reasonable belief that they were being smuggled into India. A case was then registered against two people -Thameez, the carrier, and an Irshad MP, believed to be the recipient. 

Recipient busted as well

Thameez was immediately taken into custody and interrogated. During questioning, he admitted that the gold didn’t belong to him; he was just a carrier, who was smuggling the gold for a hefty commission and was supposed to hand it over to one Irshad MP at the airport. Acting on the information, AIU officials also managed to nab Irshad from outside of the airport. 

Pradnyasheel Jumle, deputy commissioner, AIU, Mumbai Customs, said that “Thameez had been receiving multiple calls on his cellphone while the search was being conducted, which led officers to believe that it must be the recipient calling him. We asked him to call the person to the car park, where we caught him.” 

Uptick in smuggling

After the preliminary probe, investigators suspect that the accused could be members of a syndicate dealing in buying gold abroad at cheaper rates and after smuggling them into India, selling them at a high price. Sources added that based on the information gleaned from the two, AIU officials have shared the information with other concerned enforcement agencies. “The demand for gold has increased for the first time after demonetisation, leading to an uptick in the number of gold-smuggling cases,” said Jumle.