Man caught smuggling gold escapes Customs custody

During preliminary inquiry by the Customs officials, Wajih, who hails from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, admitted that he had swallowed the gold in order to hoodwink the law enforcement agencies.

According to personnel of J J Marg police station, on suspicion, Customs officials caught Shahvez Navaz Wajih, 25, at Terminal 2 where he arrived from Jeddah by flight 6E62. (Representational/Express File Photo)

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Police have launched a hunt for a man who was caught smuggling gold at the Mumbai airport but escaped from Customs officials’ custody while he was being taken to the Sir J J Hospital for medical examination after he claimed that he had swallowed the gold.

According to personnel of J J Marg police station, on suspicion, Customs officials caught Shahvez Navaz Wajih, 25, at Terminal 2 where he arrived from Jeddah by flight 6E62.

During preliminary inquiry by the Customs officials, Wajih, who hails from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, admitted that he had swallowed the gold in order to hoodwink the law enforcement agencies.

Following this, he was taken into custody by the Customs officials. After securing court’s permission, the officials took Wajih to Sir JJ Hospital to recover the smuggled gold.

During medical examination at ward number 4 at the hospital, one of the two Customs officials went to the washroom, while another officer was sharing information with the doctors when Wajih escaped, states the police complaint.

When Customs officials discovered that Wajih had escaped, they approached Sir J J Marg police station.

On the complaint of Customs superintendent Gyaneshwar Dhage, police registered a case under Section 224 (Resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension) of the Indian Penal Code against Wajih and are looking for him, an officer said.

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