The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested two passengers who arrived at the Mumbai airport from Dubai with 21.288 kg of smuggled gold worth Rs 18.92 crore concealed in customized waist belts, officials said on Thursday, reported news agency PTI.
The DRI had received specific information about two passengers travelling with smuggled gold from Dubai to Mumbai, an official said.
Accordingly, a vigilance was mounted on passengers arriving at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) from Dubai and two of them were intercepted on suspicion, he said, reported PTI.
On personal search of the duo, DRI officials recovered foreign-marked gold bars ingeniously concealed inside customized waist belts worn by them beneath their shirts, informed the official.
During interrogation, both the passengers admitted to smuggling the gold, which weighed 21.288 kg and was valued at Rs 18.92 crore. A case was registered against the duo under relevant provisions of the Customs Act, and they were placed under arrest, he said, reported PTI.
Mumbai Customs seize drugs, gold dust worth over Rs 11 crore at airport
Mumbai Customs on Wednesday said that it conducted two operations at Mumbai`s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International (CSMI) Airport and successfully seized 1.18 kilograms of suspected cocaine and 485 grams of gold dust between March 2 and March 3.
In an official statement, Mumbai Customs said that on March 2, 2025, based on a routine profiling check, Customs officers intercepted a passenger arriving from Uganda. The passenger appeared to be nervous during questioning and later admitted to ingesting capsules containing a white substance believed to be narcotics.
The officials said that after a medical examination, the passenger was kept under the supervision of a judicial magistrate. Over the next three days, the passenger purged 100 capsules containing a crumbled white substance, totalling 1.18 kilograms of suspected cocaine. The estimated value of the seized drugs is Rs 11.8 crore.
The officials are further investigating the matter under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, the officials said.
The statement said that in another case on March 3, the Mumbai Customs officials intercepted a 93-year-old passenger based on specific intelligence about gold smuggling. The elderly passenger was found to be concealing 485 grams of 24-carat gold dust, worth approximately Rs 40 lakh, in the clothes he was wearing. The gold was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962.
(With inputs from PTI)
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