DRI and Mumbai Customs seize ₹14.81Cr gold, 3 arrested
Mumbai airport officials just stopped a creative gold smuggling attempt: three passengers flying in from Dubai were caught with 9.4kg of gold hidden in their luggage, valued at a whopping ₹14.81 crore.
Acting on a tipoff, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and Mumbai Customs's Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) pulled off the operation and made arrests on the spot.
Powdered gold hidden in 33.5kg food
Turns out, the smugglers had powdered the gold and mixed it into 33.5kg of everyday food items like milk powder and oats, making it almost impossible to spot at first glance.
After testing, officials managed to separate out the gold and seized 9.4kg of gold under customs law.
The arrested passengers allegedly told investigators that they were working for an organized gold-smuggling syndicate, showing just how inventive these operations can get, and how alert airport teams need to be.