An Indian was recently seized by Indonesian customs officials at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport while attempting to smuggle a massive amount of diamonds worth IDR 1.5 billion, or about USD 100,391, in his underwear.
The Head of the Type C Customs Office at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Gatot Sugeng Wibowo, said that the smuggler, who goes by the initials RA, was carrying orders from someone in India. The 25-year-old RA was compensated for smuggling the diamonds to Indonesia with INR 5,000, or around USD 61.
“[RA] had a transit flight from India to Bangkok before arriving in Soekarno-Hatta,” Wibowo told the local media on Friday, 16th of June 2023.
Wibowo continued, “[RA] stated that this was his first time visiting Indonesia.”
The diamonds weighed around 144.27 grammes and were stored in small plastic bags. Wibowo claimed that when RA landed at Terminal 3 of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, police got suspicious of the Indian guy’s belongings since he acted very anxious when he landed at the airport. Following an investigation, authorities found two plastics with 11 paper wraps covering the diamonds stored in eleven small plastic bags, which they later discovered.
Wibowo stated that RA had concealed the diamonds in his underwear by sewing the hidden pockets all around his underwear. As the investigation continues, the Indian citizen will be detained at the central immigration detention centre, according to the authorities.
Since the motive and purpose of this massive amount of diamond smuggling are still unknown, the investigation will be continued by police, especially to crack down on who hired RA to do this job. Wibowo stated that if it was later needed, the local police would work with Indian authorities and Interpol to expose the motive of this case.
Interested in this topic? Check out our other articles from Social Expat:
