Authorities in Chennai, India, intercepted 2.5kg of gold granules worth Dh600,000 ($163,345) hidden in four containers of Tang instant orange drink on Monday. Courtesy: Chennai Customs
Authorities in Chennai, India, intercepted 2.5kg of gold granules worth Dh600,000 ($163,345) hidden in four containers of Tang instant orange drink on Monday. Courtesy: Chennai Customs
The gold granules, pictured in foreground, were hidden in the drink powder and the canisters send by air freight from Dubai to Chennai. Courtesy: Chennai Customs
The gold granules, pictured in foreground, were hidden in the drink powder and the canisters send by air freight from Dubai to Chennai. Courtesy: Chennai Customs
On Sunday, customs officials in Chennai discovered 251g of gold worth Dh60,000 hidden inside a small cordless vacuum cleaner. Courtesy: Chennai Customs
On Sunday, customs officials in Chennai discovered 251g of gold worth Dh60,000 hidden inside a small cordless vacuum cleaner. Courtesy: Chennai Customs
A passenger had brought the appliance on to a flight from Dubai. Duty should be paid on larger quantities of gold taken into India. Courtesy: Chennai Customs
A passenger had brought the appliance on to a flight from Dubai. Duty should be paid on larger quantities of gold taken into India. Courtesy: Chennai Customs

Government

Smugglers travelling from Dubai hide gold in orange Tang drink containers

Customs officials in Chennai intercept package worth Dh600,000

Nick Webster
Nick Webster

May 11, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

Brazen attempts to smuggle gold on flights from Dubai continue to be foiled by customs officials.

Authorities in Chennai, India, intercepted 2.5kg of gold granules hidden in four containers of instant orange drink Tang on Monday.

The haul was worth an estimated Dh600,000 ($163,345) and arrived in a postal parcel delivered on air freight.

On the same day, Chennai customs recovered bundles of gold paste worth an estimated Dh200,000.

The package was concealed in the underwear of a passenger arriving on an Air India morning flight from Dubai.

Just 24 hours earlier, the same customs authority found 251 grams of gold with a value of around Dh60,000 hidden in a vacuum cleaner.

A passenger had taken the appliance on a flight from Dubai in the hope of evading import duties.

Read More

Declaring gold: what you need to know about how much you can bring in and out of the UAE

Watch: Indian officials arrest six passengers for smuggling 5.5kg gold in their wigs

No taxes are paid when gold is exported from the UAE, but passengers travelling with gold to India are required to declare larger volumes.

Male passengers can bring in up to 20 grams of gold worth 50,000 rupees  ($688) duty free, while women are allowed 40 grams.

Larger quantities must be declared at customs and import duty fees equivalent to 10.75 per cent of the gold's value paid to the Indian government.

TOURNAMENT INFO

Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier

Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November

UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi

You might also like

Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes

The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos

Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km

Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk 

Stars:  Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

Sunday:
GP3 race: 12:10pm
Formula 2 race: 1:35pm
Formula 1 race: 5:10pm
Performance: Guns N' Roses

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
  1. Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

Kareem Shaheen on Canada
Section 375

Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat

Director: Ajay Bahl

Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL

Rating: 3.5/5

MATCH INFO:

Second Test

Pakistan v Australia, Tuesday-Saturday, 10am​​ daily​​​​​ at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Entrance is free

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
UAETransport