Gold smuggling attempt foiled in Saudi Arabia

An attempt to smuggle more than 3.5 kilogrammes of gold through a Saudi airport has been foiled.

Customs officers at King Fahad airport in the Eastern Province city of Dammam had suspicions about a passenger and conducted a body search.

They discovered gold items weighing 3.599 kilogrammes hidden in his underwear and socks, Saudi news site Al Marsad reported on Thursday.

“The smuggler was trying to avoid to pay the customs fees on the gold items,” Yussuf Al Zakan, the director general of the customs, said. “The anti-money laundering law is very clear about the cash and expensive items that passengers could carry them as they leave or come into Saudi Arabia.”

Under the law, items worth more than 60,000 Saudi Riyals must be declared by travellers who must also fill in a specific form.

“Those who fail to declare the cash or the items are held legally accountable,” Al Zakan said.

According to Saudi reports, the major smuggling issue in the kingdom is related to drugs and attempts to get heroin, hashish, amphetamine, cocaine and pills into the country across land borders and airports.

Customs officers also reported attempts to smuggle in weapons and explosives.

In some rare cases, smugglers tried to sneak people they hid inside vehicles into the country

source : gulfnews