In the past one week, Customs officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) have busted seven cases of gold smuggling and have seized over 5.80 kg of gold worth crores of rupees. Officials also apprehended seven persons allegedly involved in these cases. Interestingly, in some cases the gold was concealed in ladies hair pins and trolley handles, while in other cases, the accused had attempted to smuggle gold through body concealment, officials said.
According to the Customs officials, during the night of August 5, officials posted at the international airport examined the baggage of a passenger who had arrived from Dubai. The examination revealed that the passenger had concealed gold ingeniously in a laptop, speaker and wristwatch washer.
In total, 2,085 grams of gold was seized and the passenger was arrested. On the same day, two more cases of attempted gold smuggling were detected by Customs officials at the airport.
“In one case 528 grams of gold was concealed in the body. In another case gold was concealed in ladies' hair pins and trolley handles and in this case, one Sudanese national was arrested,” officials said.
On August 4, the Customs officials arrested four passengers in four separate cases for allegedly trying to smuggle over 3 kg of gold worth Rs 1.48 crore. According to the Customs officials, four passengers were examined based on suspicion and this resulted in the recovery of 3.2 kg of gold. The passengers were then placed under arrest.
“In one of the cases, gold was ingeniously concealed in hooks of a Ratchet Lashing Belt. Other cases involved passengers concealing gold inside their body,” said a Customs official. The customs officials are probing who were the suppliers and receivers of the gold consignments.
“Such passengers work as carriers in lieu of money. They are only informed by their supplier that they need to hand over the consignmentto a person who would meet them outside the airport. When the receiver realises that the carrier is taking more than usual time to come out of the airport, they simply leave the place,” the official said.
