Israel authorities on Wednesday arrested three residents of East Jerusalem at Ben Gurion Airpot upon their return from Dubai on suspicion of trying to smuggle a thousand gold coins with an estimated worth in the millions.
The total weight of the coins was more than 8kg (17.6 lbs.), with a market value estimated at around NIS two million ($605,000).
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Hundreds of gold coins stashed in abdominal belts seized by Israeli customs
(Photo: Israel Tax Authority)
The coins were stashed in two specialized abdominal belts which two of the three passengers carried on their person.
The suspects were arrested as part of a joint operation of the Jerusalem Customs and VAT Investigations Department and the Ben Gurion Airport Drugs and Customs Unit, against a network of gold smugglers from Dubai.
Another East Jerusalem resident was arrested last month upon his return from Dubai, carrying one ounce of gold coins worth around NIS one million ($302,000) on his body concealed in a belt similar to those seized by customs on Wednesday. Authorities suspect the suspects from both incidents are tied to the same smuggling ring.
The seized mints are 22-carat gold English sovereign coins. The sovereign is a gold coin of the United Kingdom that has a nominal value of one pound sterling.
Many of the variant designs of the sovereign since 1989 have been intended to appeal to coin collectors, as have the other gold coins based on the sovereign, from the quarter sovereign to the five-sovereign piece. As a legal tender coin, the sovereign is exempt from capital gains tax for UK residents. The value of each coin seized is estimated at 2,000 shekels ($605).