Rs 2.58-crore smuggled gold seized at Mumbai airport; 2 air passengers among 4 held

A total of 4 kgs of smuggled gold worth Rs 2.58 crore was recovered from them, he said.

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Tuesday seized 4 kgs of smuggled gold worth Rs 2.58 crore at the Mumbai airport and arrested four persons, including two air passengers who had brought the yellow metal illegally into the country, an official said.

Both passengers landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in the morning from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. On searching them, DRI personnel found 1kg gold dust in vax form carefully concealed in innerwear of each passenger, he said.

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During baggage search of the intercepted passengers, the central agency’s personnel examined three mixer grinders carried by them and after cutting them, found gold concealed inside the appliances, said the official.

A total of 4 kgs of smuggled gold worth Rs 2.58 crore was recovered from them, he said.

Subsequently, it was found that two persons had come to take delivery of the gold from the air travellers and were waiting outside the airport, the official said.

Accordingly, the DRI personnel laid a trap and intercepted them. The two air passengers and the receivers were arrested under relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, he said.