Customs officials in Cairo, Luxor thwart gold smugglers

Customs authorities at Cairo International Airport in Egypt said they had thwarted multiple attempts to smuggle gold into the country.

In one incident, a passenger who had flown into the city from N’Djamena in Chad was found in possession of more than 29 kg of gold, while another from Al-Ain in the UAE was found with two gold bars weighing a combined 300 grams.

A passenger from the Saudi capital Riyadh was found to be carrying nine gold bars with a combined weight of 500 grams, while a passenger arriving from Jeddah was caught with four gold bars weighing 250 grams.

An Egyptian passenger traveling from Abha in Saudi Arabia was found with four gold bars weighing 430 grams hidden inside computer equipment.

In another case, a woman arriving from Istanbul was found trying to smuggle eight gold bars with a combined weight of 1.8 kg.

Meanwhile, customs authorities at Luxor International Airport said that 22 gold bars with a total weight of 3 kg were found in the luggage of 10 people arriving from Kuwait.