Mumbai Airport Customs seized 7.465 Kg gold of Rs. 5.113 Crores across seven cases of contraband gold concealed on the bodies of passengers and contractual staff of the airport late Friday night.
About The Seizure
The contraband gold evading customs levies was hidden in pockets of pants worn by them and inside the body cavities of seven individuals arrested for gold smuggling. The alert customs officials of the elite Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) intercepted three passengers, one arriving from Dubai, and another two passengers from Madagascar with 24 KT Gold Jewelry, Key Rings, Keychains, Keys, kadas in color-coated fashion jewelry with a total of Net Weight of 4.655 Kgs valued at Rs. 3.183 crore concealed on body and pockets of the trousers pants worn by them.
2 Contractual Staffs Arrested
The customs officers also arrested two contractual staff hired by the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport working in the departure area of the airport with seven pouches of 24KT Gold Dust in wax having a net weight of 2.81 Kg provisionally valued at Rs.1.93 Crore concealed inside undergarments as well as side pockets of the trouser worn by the contract staff.
The questioning of the airport staff led to the arrest of four other airport staff involved in abetting the smuggling racket with picking of the contraband gold from international flights and handing them to transit passengers on domestic flights to avoid customs checks and detection.