2 Mumbai airport cleaning staff held for smuggling Rs 1.6 crore foreign gold

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested two cleaning staff at Mumbai airport for allegedly trying to smuggle foreign-origin gold valued at Rs 1.6 crore, officials said on Sunday.

Investigations point to a smuggling syndicate that used international passengers to hide gold in the aircraft on arrival, which was later retrieved by the airport staff with insider access, an official said.

The two accused, employees of an airport services company, were apprehended on Saturday, the official said.

The DRI had specific information that foreign-origin gold was being smuggled through the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here by concealing it within the aircraft and retrieving it through insider airport staff.

Accordingly, a discreet surveillance was mounted at the airport.

A team leader of the cleaning staff was seen hurriedly placing a packet on the aerobridge staircase upon noticing the DRI sleuths, the official said.

The packet was later recovered and found to contain gold dust in wax form, concealed under a white cloth, he said.

The staff member was immediately apprehended and, during interrogation, he admitted to hiding the packet to avoid detection, the official said.

He further told officials that his supervisor had retrieved the gold from an aircraft and handed it to him. Based on his statement, the supervisor was also arrested, the official said.

In total, 1.2 kg of gold dust of 24-karat purity, valued at around Rs 1.6 crore, was seized under the Customs Act, he added.