Smuggling contraband:

Quaint methods adopted to avoid detection

By Kurulu Kariyakarawana

Smuggling goods by devious means has become a common curse faced by many countries in the world today - from human trafficking to smuggling of jewellery, antiques, minerals, weaponry, biological items ans of course, the money spinner -narcotics. The perpetrators use devious methods to smuggle the contraband into or out of a country, despite the watchful eyes of Customs officials who are on the prowl and prevent the illegal flow of items at ports and airports. Some smugglers invent the most bizarre methods by using the human body thus putting themselves at great risk.

How gold nuggets are inserted into the rectum to   avoid Customs detection

The rectum is a common organ used to smuggle gold out of the country. Depending on the items, smugglers hide it in their baggage, in false bottoms, in clothing, in footwear and inside the body where some of them swallow narcotics which can be retrieved through when passing faeces. The rectum is the latest modus operandi to smuggle valuables.

The issue was a an eye opener for the law enforcing authorities, when a series of such cases were busted at the airport during the last couple of months. Since the beginning of the August to date 10 instances have been thwarted where persons tried to smuggle portions of gold out of the country hidden in their rectums. Local traders including a few foreigners were among the suspects. they were successfully nabbed by a special customs unit..

This method of transporting contraband has been identified in modern smuggling history where smugglers use their rectums to smuggle narcotics such as heroin and valuables such as gold or precious stones. A relatively small portion of the contraband is carefully packed in polythene material and gently inserted into the anus. Now many rely on condoms and engage in the same procedure.

Law enforcing authorities, such as the Customs stationed at entry and exit points of international airports are equipped with modern hardware like scanners and X-ray machines that would enable them to screen suspicious passengers and goods that pass through. Contraband hidden in baggages and clothing can clearly be detected thanks to these high-tech gadgets but not contraband hidden inside the body. Items that had been swallowed or hidden inside the rectum cannot be detected with these machines and all detections were made with the expertise, experience and the instinct of Customs officials in charge of these enter, exit points.

The body language of a person who is hiding something in his or her person could be observed by a trained eye that the person is not behaving in a normal fashion. When somebody hides something in the rectum it is done with utmost care due to the tenderness of that part of the body. A slight wrong move would result in a serious wound and great pain. A person who is to pass through Customs hiding contraband in his person has to operate with caution. Even the gait of the person is far from normal and the uncomfortable nature as well as the constant fear of being identified at any moment could hardly be suppressed by the facial expressions.

However, all these cases that were detected in the recent past were reportedly done merely by studying the body language of these smugglers and out of suspicion. The Customs officials did not have the slightest idea that the suspect is carrying contraband hidden in the bodies- it was just that the body language of these smugglers that betrayed them..

Looking at the attempts being made to smuggle gold out of the country, hidden in the rectum on so many occasions during the last few weeks, Customs spokesman, Director Leslie Gamini told the Sunday Observer that there is a developing trend where people believe that they can successfully smuggle gold hidden in the person.

Also it is noteworthy that the reducing prices of gold in Sri Lanka has encouraged these elements to smuggle it to neighbouring countries where they can get a good deal. Since most of the attempts were made by persons to smuggle the gold into India, it is understood that they would get a good price for gold in India.

According to Leslie Gamini, there are no restrictions to carry gold legally. There is no tax imposed on gold being take out of the country but persons carrying gold have to adhere to a certain procedure introduced by the authorities. A person who desires to transport gold has to pass a "Cusdec" or Customs Declaration message first with a valuation report of the type and price of the gold they are exporting. This valuation report can be obtained from a registered assessor of the Gem and Jewellery Bureau. When the Cusdec is passed the consignment of gold will be sealed and taken into the possession of the Customs Department where it would be separately sent to the airport. The package will be then handed over to the Captain of the desired flight to be deposited in a safe on the plane in the presence of the customer.

This process is convenient and safe and there are no complications involved except for those who does not want to take gold out of the country and abide by the law. However, many people who want export gold do it in a secretive and unlawful manner avoiding the legal procedure merely because they do not want to divulge their financial status or personal earnings. For a person to take gold abroad according to this process they need to register a company and produce documentation. Fearing to reveal personal wealth, people use unlawful methods to carry gold, he said.

However, the Sunday Observer learns that there is a different scam that is currently in operation. Groups of small scale vendors who are in the clothing business are also engaged in smuggling gold out of the country. Most of the people who carry gold hidden in the rectum or any other body part are just being hired as carriers by these clothes vendors for a small fee. These vendors usually import saris from India and they constantly travel between the two countries.

They carry baggage and parcels of garments that can be taken on a plane on the personal baggage quota. When the dealers are off to India they have to take large sums of money with them to purchase goods and this hinders them with another obstacle which is having to declare the money at the Customs. Since there is a good price for gold overseas only a small portion of gold is required to convert it into a large sum of money. These traders rely on carrying gold in their possession instead of money to buy these garments for the local market.

It is understood that these traders buy gold from pawning centres for a lowsovereign price. The jewellery is then melted into gold. Several pieces of gold could be carefully hidden in a person's rectum and could be converted into millions outside the country. Little do they they know that by doing so, they violate several laws pertaining to money laundering, exchange values and smuggling.

Most of these traders use a different person to transport gold as a carrier. Although these carriers transport expensive goods hidden in their bodies with an extensive risk to their lives and to their civil rights it is being paid off with a very little fee. A carrier at a time may smuggle gold worth over several millions of rupees but he is merely paid Rs.10, 000 or something close to that. But for the easy money many people have risked their lives that could result in several years in prison or a huge fine. It was once reported that many years ago that a person who tried to smuggle gold hidden in his rectum died due to an internal injury. And the risk of repeating a similar incident is growing.

According to Sri Lanka Customs reports 10 incidents of attempting to smuggle out gold hidden in the rectum had been reported in the last few weeks. Out of that several large scale instances were highlighted as at August 27, gold biscuits weighing 621grams worth Rs.3.1million was seized at the Bandaranaike International Airport. On September 4, raw gold weighing up to 477grams worth Rs.2.7million was seized and on September 5 again raw gold weighing 550grams worth Rs.2.75million were detected. All the gold was bound for India and hidden in the rectum of people excepting for one instance on August 19 where a person tried to smuggle gems worth up to Rs.8 million to Singapore.