A crew member of Air India, Shafi Sharaf, who hails from Wayanad, was apprehended in Kerala for trying to smuggle gold. Sharaf had concealed 1,487 grams of gold around his forearms, hiding it under his shirtsleeves. His plan was to pass through the green customs clearance channel, which is designated for passengers who have nothing to declare and are not carrying any taxable items.
The Customs Preventive Commissionerate received a tip-off that a member of the Air India cabin crew on the Bahrain-Kozhikode-Kochi flight was smuggling gold, leading to the arrest of Shafi Sharaf. The officials mentioned that an inquiry is underway, and Sharaf is currently being interrogated by the customs authorities.
Shafi Sharaf was caught at Kochi Airport after the Customs Preventive Commissionerate acted on the tip they received. A picture shared by a news agency shows that Sharaf had applied the gold paste around his arms to conceal it.
According to reports, the suspect arrived in Kochi from Bahrain at approximately 8:30 p.m. Within two hours of his arrival, he was apprehended and taken to the customs preventive wing at 10:20 p.m.