Customs seize gold worth ₹2.55 crore and 500 g ganja at Bengaluru airport

Customs officials at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport seized gold and cannabis worth about ₹2.55 crore from passengers on international flights. The haul included 500 g of ganja valued at ₹17.50 lakh, taken from Ahmed Rahees who arrived from Bangkok on an IndiGo flight. From a passenger arriving from Abu Dhabi, officials seized 133 g of gold worth ₹10,52,363 belonging to Akshil Suresh Bhai Patel. Three travellers from Kuala Lumpur on IndiGo flight 6E 1038 were also found with gold. Vanitha Malaisamy carried 294.41 g of gold valued at ₹39,10,353. Venkatesubramaniyan Shanmugam had 398.35 g of gold worth ₹52,90,884. Mohamed Abdullah Anas was caught with 900 g of gold valued at ₹1.305 crore. The five gold cases total 1,725.76 g and a combined value of ₹2,37,03,600. Adding the ganja brings the total declared value to ₹2,54,53,600, roughly ₹2.55 crore. Customs suspects the passengers acted as mules for a syndicate under investigation. The seizures were recorded on October 25, 2026.

Context

Gold smuggling through airports is a regular challenge for Indian customs. Cannabis is also a controlled substance that customs checks for on international arrivals. Such seizures aim to disrupt organised smuggling networks.