Indian gold smugglers, locked in a cat-and-mouse game with customs officials, are always searching for new ways to hide the precious yellow metal and get it into the country without being detected. Among their latest innovations: Mixing gold dust with henna powder or encasing it in chocolate.

Thanks to high duties imposed last year in an effort to reduce gold imports and improve country’s trade balance, gold smuggling has risen sharply, Indian authorities say. The government says that from April through June it intercepted $44 million of smuggled gold at the country’s airports. That compares with $82 million in the year ended March 31.