Passenger Caught with $53,000 Hidden Diamonds

(IDEX Online) - A passenger was caught with RUP 43.97 lakh (USD 53,000) of polished diamonds hidden in a suitcase as they prepared to a board a plane from India to Bangkok, Thailand.

Customs officials at Surat Airport seized 154.81 carats on 5 December, as well as $6,000 in US bank notes under the Customs Act, 1962. They said they were acting on specific intelligence.

The contraband was "ingeniously concealed" inside the suitcase, but no further details were given.

The passenger's name, gender, nationality, and age have not been disclosed

Although India levies no export duty on diamonds, traders sometimes smuggle stones to sidestep mandatory disclosures about their source, value, and destination — information that must be declared during legal export. Foreign currency over $5,000 must be declared.

Pic of seized diamonds courtesy Ahmedabad Customs.