Popular YouTuber Sets Up Shop At Chennai Airport To Smuggle Gold, Earns Rs 3 Crore In 3 Months

Chennai: A seemingly harmless souvenir shop inside the departure terminal at Chennai Airport was used by popular YouTuber Mohammed Sabir Ali and his seven employees for smuggling gold of 267 Kg of gold worth Rs 167 Crore in just two months.

Mohammed Ali, the owner of the Shop who was popularly known for his channel “Shoppingboyz” was arrested along with his employees and two transit passengers. Ali and his employees were introduced to the idea of establishing a shop and were simultaneously trained by a Sri Lankan gold syndicate to smuggle gold. They were given a commission of Rs 3 crores.

The shop named “Airhub” acquired its contract from Vidvedaa PRG, the authorised concessionaire for leasing out retail spaces in Chennai airport. However, the authorities have now concluded their contract. It is said by sources that a member of the syndicate residing in Abu Dhabi, paid Rs 70 Lakh to help Ali lease the space in the airport.

How did the authorities bust their plan?

The Customs Officials untangled their plan on June 29 when one of the employees of the shop was found with one Kg of gold powder. The employee as well as the transit passenger who sneaked in the gold powder were taken into custody, following the arrest of Ali and his other employees. “The workers have been trained to hide gold in powder form in their rectum to avoid getting caught in the scanner. It is a well-oiled network and well-executed plan” said the customs officials.

It is revealed by Sources that the customs officials are investigating how the employees of the shop who worked on a contract basis owned identity cards issued by the Bureau Of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) due to which they were spared from security checks. Further probe on this matter is ongoing.