In a significant action against smuggling, the Airport Commissionerate of Mumbai Customs Zone on Monday seized 32.79 Kgs of gold valued at Rs 19.15 crore. Two women passengers of foreign nationality have also been arrested by the customs.
The Mumbai customs found the gold concealed in undergarments and baggages of both the apprehended passengers.
Rise in gold smuggling seizures
Huge chunks of gold have been seized by the customs at various Indian airports in the recent past. Earlier on June 7, over 6 Kgs of gold with 24K purity worth Rs 3.91 crore, was seized by the officials of the Customs Department at the Chennai airport. Along with the seized gold, five passengers who arrived from Dubai were arrested for their alleged involvement in the gold smuggling into the country. The seizure was made after the customs got specific inputs from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
Similarly on June 4, over 9 Kgs of gold was seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence at Bengaluru airport in two different cases. In a first, 6.834 kgs of gold valued at Rs 4.77 crore was recovered from the abandoned bags. The passengers involved were arrested later. Moreover, in the second instance, 2.18 kg of gold in bar form was recovered and seized by officers of the DRI from an Emirates flight.
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