Diwali crackdown: Gold, iPhones seized at Mumbai airport in two days

Articles include gold, foreign currency and smartphones

Seven smuggling cases were detected at the Mumbai International airport in 48 hours by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU). The articles smuggled include gold, foreign currency and smartphones.

In four cases, passengers were intercepted with gold, while gold bars were found abandoned in an aircraft in another case. One passenger was intercepted with foreign currency, while another was caught with 176 used Apple iPhones.

AIU officials said a passenger, Drastamat Vardanyan, travelling on an Armenian passport, arrived from Dubai carrying a 1,227-g gold chain valued at Rs33.98 lakh, which was seized. He has been arrested. In another case, one Sajid Yakub, holding an Indian passport, arrived from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. “He was found carrying 176 used iPhones valued at Rs16.63 lakh. The phones were seized and a case was filed,” said a high-ranking AIU officer, on condition of anonymity.

WATCH: 7 smuggling attempts busted in two days

Another passenger, Kaiser Khan, who arrived from Dubai, was found carrying two gold bars valued at Rs6.42 lakh. In another case, Amiruddin Khan, who was leaving for Dubai, was found carrying $5000 and 8,750 UAE Dirhams. Another passenger, Ramesh, was found carrying four diamond-studded gold rings valued at Rs6.20 lakh.

AIU also intercepted Nafisa Mohamed Abubakar, who arrived from Dubai and holds an Indian passport. “We found three gold bars valued at Rs7.97 lakh concealed in the rectum,” said the officer.

In a case, officers rummaged an aircraft at a remote bay and found six gold bars valued at Rs19.38 lakh. “An unclaimed seizure case was made of the gold, which was cleverly concealed inside the cavity of the horizontal pipe frame below the passenger seat,” said the officer. Investigations are on about who concealed the gold.

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