Man hides 20 gold bars worth ₹63 lakh in Mumbai airport toilet bin, arrested

The accused Nasir Khan, 35, arrived from Dubai and authorities suspect he is a carrier who was asked to smuggle the gold worth ₹63 lakh for a commission.

The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) on Sunday arrested a flyer after he left gold worth ₹63 lakh in a washroom at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, to avoid detection.

The 20 gold bars weighed around 2.3kg. (HT Photo)

On Monday, the accused Nasir Khan, 35, arrived from Dubai and was followed by the AIU when he went to the toilet. “He was intercepted while coming out of the toilet and a search of the dustbin in the cubicle resulted in the recovery of a packet containing 20 gold bars, weighing 2,332 grams,” said a senior AIU officer.

Authorities suspect that Khan is a carrier who was asked to smuggle the gold worth ₹63 lakh for a commission. “We suspect there was someone who was expected to retrieve the gold from the toilet. We are scanning CCTV footage,” said the officer. The agency is investigating if any airport staffer was involved.

In another case on Friday, AIU arrested Noushad Kandathil, 30, with $33,000, equivalent to ₹22 lakh, oncealed in a pair of jeans in his checked-in luggage. Any amount of foreign currency can be taken out of the country as long as the passenger adheres to the prescribed rules, said a customs official.