Indian Man Uses Diaper Filled with Gold Pellets Worth Rp 700 Million, Caught at Soekarno-Hatta Airport

The gold smuggling attempt was valued at approximately Rp 700 million and was intended to be carried out by an Indian national with initials MTNP (44), who was scheduled to fly from Soekarno-Hatta Airport to Singapore and then continue to New Delhi, India,” said the Head of Soekarno-Hatta Customs, Hengky Tomuan Parlindungan Aritongan, during a press conference at the Soekarno-Hatta Customs Office in Tangerang on Monday (11/5/2026).

MTNP’s actions were detected while passing through pre-flight checks at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. Suspicious customs officers immediately verified and discovered gold ore adhered inside the diaper he was wearing to evade inspection.

“It turns out this individual was attempting to smuggle the gold out by placing it in the diaper or inside the underwear he was wearing,” he explained.

Hengky described how officers found two packets of gold still in pellet form. This made it easier to attach using gel and place behind the worn diaper.

“So the pellets like those shown here are placed into gel made from gluten, then the gold is attached. If you look here, there are visible gold pellets, and then it’s worn. The method used is similar to drug smuggling tactics,” he added.

Hengky further explained that his team separated the gold from the diaper and then tested it in a laboratory.

“It was determined that the substance, those pellets, are a type of precious metal, namely gold, with a purity of more than 90% and a total gross weight of 265.7 grams, distributed in the two packets and then incorporated into the diaper,” he said.