Three Kenyan women found themselves behind bars at an airport in India despite surrendering and volunteering information on the gold bars they were carrying.
Media outlets in India reported that the three arrived at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport early Saturday morning.
The three then voluntarily at the red channel counter to declare the value of the gold bars they were carrying which they estimated at 2.5 kilogrammes.
Customs officials at the airport, however, carried out a search on them and found that the total weight of the gold was 3 kilograms, valued at Ksh40.9 million.
The women arrived at the airport after connecting flights through Addis Ababa and told the customs officers that they had bought the gold in Kenya.
Their goal, they explained, was to sell the gold in India where it fetches a higher sum per kilogramme.
One of the women was found to have hidden 11 bars in her undergarments and the other two were arrested as accomplices.
The foreign countries customs made two arrests the same day including an Indian national who had jetted in with bars of gold from Dubai.
The suspect was found with 44 bars that weighed over 5 kilogrammes and were valued at Ksh50 million (Rs 3.24 crore).
The unnamed individual explained to the customs that he imported the gold for resale to India in effort of making a better return.
Reports indicated that the four suspects were arraigned before a court and were sent to judicial custody as investigations continue.
Cases of gold smuggling especially from Kenya to India have always elicited news headlines with the Asian country considered a prime market.
