Mumbai, May 26: A 24-year-old man working in a food store at the international airport has been arrested by Airport Customs officials for allegedly being part of a gold smuggling syndicate. The accused had concealed capsules containing gold in dust form in his rectum.
He had received the said gold from a transit passenger. On Monday, Customs had arrested another contractual worker from the airport for being part of a gold smuggling syndicate. The arrested person has been identified as V.P. Yedekar, a resident of Sangli.
Gold allegedly received from transit passenger
According to Customs sources, on Monday night, Yedekar was intercepted near the departure area at CSMI Airport, Terminal 2, situated at P-10. On inquiry, he confessed to carrying three gold pieces in his rectum, which he received from a passenger in a toilet. His X-ray was conducted following protocol, and the image confirmed the presence of three pieces of gold in his rectum.
"Yedekar himself ejected the three pieces of gold dust in oval shape at the camp office. A total of 1,210 grams of gold, provisionally valued at Rs 1.77 crore, was seized and recovered. Voluntary statements of Yedekar were recorded on Tuesday, wherein he admitted the possession, carriage, recovery, smuggling and handling of gold," said a Customs source.
Accused arrested after confession
Yedekar also admitted that the gold paste or dust did not belong to him and that he carried it at the behest of someone. Yedekar admitted to receiving the gold from a passenger for monetary consideration of Rs 8,000, following which he was arrested on Tuesday, officials said.
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Investigation into larger nexus underway
"If left unchecked, this modus operandi is likely to be exploited by the smugglers in a big way, even to smuggle other contraband items which might be detrimental to national security. This modus operandi is required to be nipped in the bud also to avoid huge financial loss to the exchequer. The investigation in this case is at the preliminary stage and the nexus is yet to be revealed by the accused. Further investigation is required to break the bigger nexus involved in the smuggling activities," said the official.
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