Customs seize 12.5kg smuggled gold worth ₹8.5 cr

MUMBAI: The Mumbai airport Customs intercepted 20 people, including two foreign nationals, in the last two days, and seized over 12.5kg gold valued at ₹8.5 crore at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

The officials said the gold was found in various forms like dust in wax, crude jewellery, gold coins and gold bars and was concealed in an ingenious way in the body, luggage and in clothes of the passengers.

The officials said that they have arrested 11 passengers out of 20 under the Customs Act for smuggling gold to India from abroad.

Several teams were formed after receiving specific information and data of the passengers travelling from abroad to Mumbai. Two foreign nationals travelling from Nairobi to Mumbai were intercepted at the airport heading towards the green channel. When checking they were found carrying 25 melted gold bars weighing 1,144 grams concealed in the pockets of burqa worn by two women passengers.

In the second operation, another team intercepted seven Indian Nationals one was travelling from Dubai, three from Jeddah, one from Addis Ababa, one from Bahrain, and one from Bangkok. They were carrying 5,903 grams of gold, hidden inside undergarments, in the back pocket of pants, in the rectum and on the body of passengers. They were carrying more than half kg of gold and therefore all of them were arrested for smuggling.

A third team of the customs department intercepted eleven Indian Nationals- three were travelling from Abu Dhabi, five were from Dubai, two from Jeddah, and one from Kuwait while they arrived at the airport and were heading to green channel.

During the search they were found carrying 5,480 grams of gold which were concealed in cardboard, in the pocket of the burqa worn by the passenger, in the right side back pocket of the trouser, inside the stomach of passengers, in the rectum and on the body, said customs official.

The passengers were aware that there was a huge difference in the value of gold in India and the value of gold overseas.

The officials said the gold was found in various forms bars.