Jordanian duo sneaks in 6.5kg of gold at KIA

BENGALURU: There was drama at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Tuesday as two Jordanians flew in from Dubai with 6.5kg of gold bars worth nearly Rs 2 crore stashed in their custom-made trousers. While one of them was detained at the airport, his accomplice slipped out and was nabbed at a hotel in Electronics City. Sources with the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) at KIA identified the gold smugglers as Abdel Rahman al-Dardasawi and Saleh Talal Yousef Herzallah, both from Amman.“During passenger profiling, we noticed Dardasawi was moving in a suspicious man ner. When we questioned him, he did not reveal anything.But we grew suspicious and frisked him. That's when we saw the trousers he was wearing contained more compartments inside,“ said an officer. The two Jordanians, who were arrested in Bengaluru on Tuesday for allegedly trying to sneak in 6.5kg of gold bars at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), were involved in electronics and garment trade, according to investigating officers.
While the main accused Abdel Rahman al-Dardasawi was arrested at the airport, the second accused Saleh Talal Yousef Herzallah was tracked down from a hotel in Bengaluru.
Inspection on Dardasawi revealed that several cloth compartments had been stitched into the trousers and he was carrying three packets sealed with duct tape in them.
The sleuths cut open the packets and found three gold bars weighing 1kg each, along with a 250g gold biscuit. The duo arrived here at 9.15am on Emirates flight (EK 0564) from Dubai.
“Dardasawi maintained he was travelling alone. He said an agent in Dubai had asked him to hand over the gold to an unidentified person outside KIA. He was offered free return tickets to Bengaluru for the smuggling. But we weren't convinced and suspected he had an aide,“ said the officer. The AIU team then checked the passenger logs and found the accomplice's name.
Further probe revealed that the man, Herzallah, had slipped away after his accomplice was caught. "We managed to track him to a hotel in the city and caught him as he was about to check in. He was also wearing similar trousers which also contained 3.25kg gold,“ another sleuth said.
The duo told interrogators that they were promised a free trip to India by gold-smuggling rings with strong links in Bengaluru.They met a gold racketeer in Dubai who provided them with the special trousers and told them to hand over the trousers with gold to a person waiting outside KIA.
Gold inside underwear
A passenger from Tamil Nadu was detained at KIA on Monday night when he tried to smuggle in over 150g of gold in pieces concealed in his underwear. The gold worth Rs. 4.45 lakh was seized from Munisamy Ponniah as he landed in Bengaluru on an Air Asia flight (AK 053) from Kuala Lumpur.