The Mumbai airport Customs has recently seized over 2.95 kilograms of gold valued at ₹1.58 crore in three different cases. In one of the cases, a Kenyan Airways crew was allegedly found carrying around one kilogram of gold.
According to the Customs, on May 19 and 20, based on profiling of the passengers and suspects, three persons, including an airline crew member were found to be involved in gold smuggling. The agency is now probing who provided them the gold and who were the recipients in Mumbai.
Gold in paste form
On May 18, the airport customs officials had seized around 3.7 kilograms of gold in paste form valued at ₹1.98 crore from six foreign nationals arriving from Male. The gold was found to be concealed in the body cavity of the passengers.
Passengers act as carriers or mules
"In most cases we have observed that the passengers act as carriers or mules for indulging in smuggling. They are promised either free foreign trips or money by the smugglers," said an agency source.
Earlier, the airport Customs had arrested a 39-year-old man from Bihar at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for allegedly smuggling 4.265 kilograms of gold worth ₹2.28 crore from Dubai.
While searching the passenger, nine packets of gold dust in wax form were found hidden inside his underwear, in stitched pockets in the jeans, and under his kneecap.
