At Agartala’s Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport, customs officials and security staff caught a shocking gold smuggling attempt. A passenger traveling to Lucknow via Kolkata was found secretly hiding seven gold biscuits inside his rectum. The biscuits, weighing about 740 grams, are worth roughly Rs 88 lakh.
Customs officers, with help from doctors at a local hospital, performed medical checks and safely removed the gold. The passenger, his travel companion, and the gold have all been turned over to customs for investigation.
A criminal case has already been filed. Investigators are tracing where the gold came from and how the smuggling ring operated. Early hints suggest the gold was smuggled from Bangladesh and was meant to be brought into Lucknow through the border network.
Gold smuggling through MBB Airport and Tripura’s borders is a recurring problem. Earlier this month, the Border Security Force (BSF) seized 2.18 kg of smuggled gold—valued at Rs 1.71 crore—from a village in the Sepahijala district. The BSF recovered bars, biscuits, and other gold items during a border patrol near the India‑Bangladesh frontier. The seized goods were also handed over to customs for further action.
Tripura shares an 856‑kilometre border with Bangladesh, surrounded on three sides by the neighboring country. While most of the frontier is fenced, some isolated, unfenced gaps still allow smuggling and other cross‑border crimes. Since last year’s unrest in Bangladesh and especially after the change of government on August 5 2024, India has increased surveillance along this critical stretch.
The latest incidents underscore the ongoing challenge of keeping the region secure from illicit gold trade and other smuggling activities.
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