New smuggling museum opens in Goa

A unique new museum has opened in Goa, it has been reported.

Travellers armed with a cheap flight to Goa may be tempted to visit a new museum that has just opened its doors in the area.

The Indian Customs and Excise Museum documents the weird and wonderful items that have been passed between borders by smugglers using the Arabian Sea throughout the ages, reports the AFP.

It shows the astounding lengths and evolving ideas travellers have used in the past to conceal items and get them in and out of the country.

The exhibits include antiques, religious statues, animal products and even a gold idol, thought to have been smuggled from Nepal and worth around US$200,000 (£122,279).

“What we have done here is to recreate the methods used by smugglers, so that visitors to this gallery realise what our officers are really up against,” head of the museum Lillian Fernandes told the news agency.

In other news that may provide a boost to those who have booked flights to Goa, Conde Nast Traveller declared Palolem as an area for great beaches.