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2 Kenyans held at Mumbai airport for smuggling gold worth ₹6.37 crore
The accused had concealed the gold in specially-made knee caps and a waist belt.
The customs department on Sunday arrested two Kenyan nationals, including a crew member of a Kenyan airline for smuggling gold worth Rs6.37 crore into the city.
Abdalla Ali Said, the crew member of Kenyan airline was arrested from Hyatt Regency with 22,826.500 grams of gold. The other accused has been identified as Ibrahim Ali Hussein, who received the gold from Said.
The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) received a tip-off about a large quantity of gold being smuggled into the city. A team of AIU officials, led by deputy commissioner Prashant Kumar, worked in tandem with a team from Sahar police station to nab the accused.
Said, who has been associated with the airlines for a long time, arrived from Kenya’s capital Nairobi on Sunday. He had concealed the gold in specially-made knee caps and a waist belt, which he wore under his trousers.
“We had received information that the gold will exchange hands and tailed Said. We followed Said into the five-star hotel, where he met another Kenyan national,” said an AIU officer.
After the duo was intercepted, the gold was found hidden under the cavity of the kneecaps and the waist belt.
Investigators believe this is a rising trend as foreign nationals are being roped in to smuggle gold into the country.
In November last year, AIU officials intercepted a Polish national and an Iranian national for smuggling gold into the city. The customs also nabbed Indonesian nationals in the past with gold at the international airport.
“There is an apparent drop in the involvement of Indians used by smugglers to smuggle in gold. We witness more and more foreign nationals being used to transport gold in such a fashion. This could be because foreign nationals are not aware of the law and could be duped into travelling with the gold,” said an official.
Officials are now investigating to ascertain who instructed Said to smuggle the gold.
