Three gold bars worth Rs 75 lakh were recovered from the toilet of a plane that arrived from abroad at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, customs officials said.

“On the basis of input received and further developed by customs officers at IGI Airport, an aircraft used for international flights was searched upon completion of its international trip at Terminal 3 of IGI in New Delhi on April 17,” customs officials told news agency ANI.

During the search, customs officers found two objects stuck with adhesive tape on the upper side panel of the starboard-side toilet of the plane.

“Upon removal and unwrapping, one rectangular gold bar and two unevenly shaped gold bars, collectively weighing 1400 grams were recovered,” a senior customs official said.

Further investigations are underway in the case to unravel the smuggling network.

Gold smuggling is on the rise due to the huge price difference of the precious metal between India and overseas markets such as Dubai.