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India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 6.85kg of foreign-origin gold worth around Rs 11 crore at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, arresting six people, including five Bangladeshi transit passengers and a ground staffer of a private airline.
The gold was seized during an operation on Saturday, officials told Hindustan Times on Monday (31 August).
According to officials, the six arrested individuals are allegedly members of a smuggling network that used Mumbai as a transit point to move gold into India.
The DRI’s Mumbai zonal unit launched the operation based on specific intelligence. The operation was internally code-named “Operation Midnight Goldstrike.”
Acting on the intelligence, DRI officials intercepted a ground staffer working for a private airline through a third party as he was leaving the airport.
A search of his body led to the recovery of seven capsules containing 24-carat gold powder concealed in wax.
During questioning, the ground staffer allegedly disclosed the involvement of others in smuggling gold through transit passengers and taking it out of the airport, according to the DRI.
Officials subsequently identified and detained several other members of the network and recovered nine more capsules from them.
The DRI said the syndicate allegedly used Mumbai as a transit hub to smuggle gold through passengers travelling from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Bangkok in Thailand and Malé in the Maldives.
The seized gold weighed 6.85kg in total and was estimated to be worth around Rs 11 crore, authorities said.
Legal proceedings have been initiated against the six arrested individuals. The investigation is continuing to identify others involved in the network and determine how the gold-smuggling operation was organised.
Source: Hindustan Times