Gold Worth Rs 21 Lakh Concealed With Rhodium Coating Seized At Hyderabad Airport

Customs officials at Hyderabad airport recovered around 370 grams of gold worth over ₹20 lakhs from a passenger arriving from Sharjah via an IndiGo flight on Monday. The gold was concealed in a rhodium-coated hair clip and other jewellery like rings and bangles of 22 karat and 18 karat were also found in the passenger’s baggage.

The Twitter Handle of Hyderabad GST & Customs Zone shared the video and wrote, ”Based on pax profiling & efficient surveillance, @hydcus officers at RGIA intercepted one pax arriving from Sharjah by Indigo 6E 1422 on 21.8.23 and seized #gold weighing 397 gm valued at Rs 20.59 lakhs.”

Watch the video here:

Based on pax profiling & efficient surveillance, @hydcus officers at RGIA intercepted one pax arriving from Sharjah by Indigo 6E 1422 on 21.8.23 and seized #gold weighing 397 gm valued at Rs 20.59 lakhs. @cbic_india@DDNewslivepic.twitter.com/jkM9Q5BT97

— CGST & Customs Hyderabad Zone (@cgstcushyd) August 21, 2023

In another tweet, CGST wrote, ”The gold was concealed as Rhodium coated hair clip and other jewellery like rings, bangles of 22kt, 18kt were found in the baggage. Further investigation into the matter is under process.”

Notably, Rhodium plating is a process where rhodium is applied in a thin layer to a piece of jewelry to keep it from tarnishing. It increases the jewelry’s resilience from scratches and adds an elegant, reflective white finish. The technique is most commonly applied to white gold jewelry. 

Further investigation is underway.

On May 16, in a similar incident, a passenger who arrived from Jeddah was arrested at Hyderabad Airport on Tuesday for carrying 403 grams of gold valued at more than ₹ 21 lakh, Hyderabad Customs said.