INDIA. Mumbai: The officers of Mumbai Airport Customs seized 8.3 kg of gold in wax form, valued at Rs 4.14 crore, from eleven foreign nationals who had arrived from Sharjah at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai, on Friday.
The Customs officials said the gold was found concealed in their body cavities. They added that the detained passengers would be produced before a local magistrate for remand on Saturday.
There have been gold seizures in quick succession in the recent past. On Monday, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai zonal unit, seized 30 kilogrammes of gold with an estimated value of Rs 21 crore after a workshop at Kalbadevi in south Mumbai. The gold smuggled in by passengers was being processed in the workshop. One person was arrested, and the gold and Rs 20 lakh in cash were seized from him.
Similarly, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) posted at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai arrested a person identified as Rishi Shyam and recovered three kilogrammes of gold from him.
Early this month, the Customs Air Intelligence Unit at the Cochin International Airport stopped a passenger who tried to smuggle in gold weighing 432.90 grammes and valued at Rs 20 lakh. He had arrived from Dubai.
Similarly, in December last year, customs seized Rs 62 lakh in gold from two people at Kozhikode International Airport. They had attempted to smuggle the gold in the form of a capsule. Mustafa (30), Shameer Ali (31) and Abdul Rasaq (39) of Tirur were identified as the accused.
Also Read: DRI Seizes Gold Worth Rs 21 Cr in Mumbai, Arrests One Person
