Mumbai: Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials announced on Monday that they apprehended a staff member of a private company at Mumbai Airport and recovered 2.8 kilograms of gold in paste form, valued at ₹1.50 crore, from him. The accused was handed over to the Air Intelligence Unit of Customs for further action.
According to officials, the CISF surveillance team at Mumbai Airport noticed suspicious activities involving a private company staff member who was working near the International Boarding Gate.
Gold paste recovered
"CISF personnel closely observed the staff member as he entered the washroom in a hurry and hastily placed a white pouch inside a janitor closet room. Acting swiftly, CISF personnel approached him and asked him to open the pouch. Upon opening the pouch, eight oval-shaped pieces of material (gold in paste form), wrapped in plastic, were discovered," said an official.
Earlier this month, CISF surveillance and intelligence staff at the airport had noticed suspicious activities involving a passenger who was loitering near a glass partition located between the domestic boarding gates. He was placed under electronic and physical surveillance. During surveillance, it was observed that a black pouch was thrown from the glass partition of the International boarding gate.
Subsequently, based on behavior detection, CISF surveillance and intelligence staff identified suspicious activities involving a female passenger who appeared to be an accomplice of the male passenger. Both passengers were intercepted, and they, along with their hand baggage, were taken to the Customs office for further interrogation. Upon a physical check of their baggage, six oval-shaped yellow metal (gold) pieces wrapped in black tape were found in the handbags of both passengers. Both passengers, along with the yellow metal paste weighing approximately 2.5 kilograms and worth about ₹1.3 crore, were handed over to AIU Customs for further action.
