Man arrested with gold bars worth ₹25 lakh at Mumbai airport

The man, who hailed from kerala, was carry eight gold bars in his pockets; investigations revealed that he was part of a smuggling syndicate

The air intelligence unit (AIU) on Tuesday arrested a passenger with gold bars worth Rs25.37 lakh which he was trying to smuggle outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA).

The accused was carrying eight gold bars weighing a total of 928gm.

Investigations revealed that the syndicate chose a flight that flew from Dubai to Kozhikode and later to Mumbai on the domestic leg. The arrested man, Muhammed P, came from Kozhikode. Based on a tip-off, he was intercepted searched. He was carrying eight gold bars, totally weighing 928gm. “The accused had wrapped two bars together with help of an adhesive tape. The total four pieces were kept in his pockets,” said an AIU officer.

The accused was quizzed which revealed the involvement of chain of persons in the smuggling racket. “The accused said gold was picked up by him from the back pocket of his seat on the flight. The gold was kept there by an international passenger coming from Sharjah to Kozhikode as an international flight,” said the officer. “The accused admitted that he did it as per the instructions of an operator calling from Dubai.”