Smart, but not quite: Kerala man shaves hair to smuggle gold under wig, nabbed

You can fault smugglers for many things but not for lack of creativity. The latest example is Malappuram native Noushad who shaved his hair at the centre of the scalp to make his wig look authentic. Under the wig was 1.13 kg of gold that Noushad believed was safe from the prying eyes of customs officials. But, the efforts got him nowhere as the customs officials at Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) proved to be smarter. The officials identified the wig and nabbed the youth for smuggling gold.

The incident happened on Friday morning as Noushad landed in the airport from Sharjah in the UAE. According to reports, the gold was concealed in compound form and was fixed in such a way that the wig covered it. When concealed in compound form, gold looks like a paste and is not detected by metal detectors. Later, the metal is retrieved in its pure from through some procedures. Customs officials at CIAL have, in the past, nabbed gold smugglers who’d concealed the precious metal in various body parts, including private parts. According to reports, this is the first time that someone hiding it on the head was caught. As per reports, a probe has been started in the case as it was found that Noushad is a carrier. In June, a man in Spain had tried to smuggle cocaine under a wig. He was arrested during the security check at an airport in Spain. However, while the man’s toupee did not look anywhere close to real, Noushad’s wig looked a lot like real hair. Smuggling gold by converting it into compound form has become rampant in Kerala. In yet another recent incident in the state, a youth was found to have successfully smuggled gold through the Calicut airport after converting it to compound form. The incident only later came to light when the youth filed a police complaint, alleging that he was kidnapped by the smuggling mafia after coming out from the airport. Source: The News Minute