Gold smuggling racket busted: 3 held with 16kg gold worth Rs 4.52 crore in Mumbai

The three passengers confessed they had been promised a monetary reward to leave the gold beneath the seats.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) busted an international gold smuggling racket and arrested three people who were trying to smuggle nearly 16 kilograms of gold, worth Rs4.52crore, from Dubai to India on an Air India flight.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence arrested three people who were trying to smuggle nearly 16 kilograms of gold, worth Rs4.52crore, from Dubai to India on an Air India flight. (HT File(Representational Image))

Acting on a tip-off, the Mumbai unit of the DRI conducted searches in flight AI-984, and recovered 15.11 kilograms of gold underneath two seats and 800 grams from one of the three suspects.

The three passengers – Imran Tazneem, Fahad Sheikh and Dharmesh Soni – confessed they had been promised a monetary reward to leave the gold beneath the seats. It would be removed during the cleaning of the aircraft by a passenger or some staff, who are hand-in-glove with the racket members.

They are being questioned if they have smuggled gold before.