As many as 24 women foreign nationals were held at Mumbai airport after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) busted a major gold smuggling racket, officials said, reported the PTI.
The officials said that the DRI seized 29.37 kg of gold worth approximately Rs 37.74 crore in the operation conducted at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
Officials said the action marks one of the biggest seizures at the airport this year.
Operation ‘Dhahabu Blitz’
According to the PTI, based on specific intelligence inputs, the DRI Mumbai Zonal Unit carried out the operation on Wednesday under the code name Operation Dhahabu Blitz. The word “Dhahabu” means gold in Swahili.
Authorities had received information that a group of women arriving from Nairobi, Kenya, were attempting to smuggle gold into India.
Gold hidden in baggage and clothing
The intercepted passengers were stopped upon arrival at Mumbai airport. A detailed search of their baggage and clothing led to the recovery of 25.10 kg of gold bars and 4.27 kg of gold jewellery, as per the PTI.
Officials believe the women were trained to conceal the gold and bypass airport security checks, suggesting involvement of a well-organised international smuggling syndicate.
Organised network under scanner
Investigators suspect that the arrested women were acting as carriers for a larger network. The method used indicates a coordinated effort to move gold into India using trained individuals to avoid detection.
Authorities were now working to identify and arrest the key masterminds behind the racket, sources said.
Further investigation underway
The detained women will be produced before the court, while the probe continues to dismantle the wider smuggling network. Officials have said that efforts are ongoing to trace the kingpins and funding channels of the syndicate.
Mumbai Customs seize Rs 1.1-crore gold at airport
In an another operation at Mumbai airport in last month, the Officers of the Airport Commissionerate, Mumbai Customs Zone–III, had conducted intensive profiling and spot checks between March 11 and 15, leading to multiple seizures of contraband, including hydroponic weed and gold.
Two separate gold cases were detected in which 716 grams of gold were recovered from two passenger.
The seized gold has an estimated market value of Rs 1.1 crore.
During the period, a case was registered after customs officers recovered 12.688 kg of hydroponic weed from a passenger arriving from Bangkok. The illicit consignment is estimated to be worth approximately Rs 12.688 crore in the black market. The passenger has been arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
(with PTI inputs)
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