No bail to 5 involved in racket that smuggled in 500 kg foreign gold

A sessions court in Mumbai rejected bail for five syndicate members accused of smuggling 500kg of foreign-origin gold with the help of an IndiGo Airlines security officer. The gold was smuggled in the form of dust mixed in wax. The racket was busted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence officials, who seized over 7.4kg of gold worth over ₹4.5 crore. The accused were found to be habitual offenders and the court observed that more than 500kg of gold had been smuggled. IndiGo Airlines stated that it maintains zero tolerance for any violation of the country's laws.

MUMBAI: A sessions court recently rejected bail applications of five syndicate members who allegedly smuggled around 500 kg of foreign-origin gold in the past eight months with the help of an IndiGo Airlines security officer. The gold was being smuggled into the country in the form of dust mixed in wax, which is one of the most common techniques used by smugglers.

HT Image

The racket was busted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials on September 9 this year at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport by seizing over 7.4kg of gold worth over ₹4.5 crore in the illicit market. The gold was seized from a security officer of IndiGo Airlines, who allegedly helped the racket bring the smuggled gold out of the airport.

While rejecting the bail applications, additional sessions judge Rajesh Sasne observed that the accused were habitual offenders. “The WhatsApp chats and images that have been recovered point out that more than 500 kg of gold has been smuggled,” said the court.

On September 9, 2023, DRI officials intercepted Umer Shaikh, 28, a security officer with IndiGo, while he was carrying two black packets containing gold dust in wax weighing 1.7kg. The packets were concealed in his shoes, one in each.

During his interrogation, the IndiGo employee revealed that two gold packets were left in the airline’s seat number 22F by a 33-year-old passenger, Zameer Tambe, purportedly one of the regular carriers of the syndicate. Shaikh also said that he had allegedly been asked to pick up the gold packets and smuggle them outside the airport and hand over the pack to a member of the syndicate.

The airline employee also revealed that he would get ₹50,000 for picking up a gold parcel left behind by syndicate carriers in the seat pockets before alighting from the plane and that he had been working for the smugglers since January 2023.

The DRI questioned Zameer Tambe after intercepting him at the baggage scanning area of Mumbai airport. Subsequently, the DRI zeroed in on 27-year-old Yaser Dafedar, who was allegedly in contact with an IndiGo employee and the courier, who allegedly confessed to his role in picking up the smuggled gold packets in return for ₹3,000 per pick-up.

The authorities further caught another syndicate member, Mohit Lotwani, in possession of two black packets containing gold in dust-in-wax form weighing 7.1kg in the front pocket of his jeans.

Another accused, 43-year-old Saleem Inamdar, the brother of the mastermind Sajid Inamdar, received ₹5,000 per trip for monitoring the entire activity. According to the prosecution, the syndicate had two to four gold smuggling trips every day. Along with 7,408.85 grams of gold, the DRI had also seized an amount of ₹3,32,796.

The accused had prayed for their release on bail on the grounds that nothing remained to be seized or recovered from them and that they were permanent residents of Mumbai.

The prosecution vehemently opposed their pleas contending that the accused had been engaged in smuggling of gold for months and if they were released on bail, they might tamper with the evidence or even flee away.

When HT reached out to IndiGo with reference to the case, the airlines said, “The matter has been investigated by the relevant authorities and the IndiGo employee has been arrested by DRI Mumbai. IndiGo is cooperating with the authorities and maintains zero tolerance for any violation of the country’s laws.”