2 Contractual Workers Held With ₹5.1 Crore Gold At Mumbai Airport In Smuggling Bid

The Air Intelligence Unit of Mumbai Airport Customs in two separate cases on Saturday have seized 5.75 kilograms of Gold valued at Rs. 5.10 crore. The gold was found concealed in the inner clothes and pocket of the jacket worn by the two contractual workers at the airport, agency sources said on Sunday. Two persons have been arrested by the Customs in these cases on charges of smuggling.

According to the Customs, one person identified as Harshal Anil Kharat, a contractual worker working in an airport lounge was intercepted when he was crossing the staff departure area and recovered six pouches containing gold dust in wax having net weight of 2800 grams valued at Rs. 2.48 crore from his inner clothes apparently handed over to him by a transit passenger. The person has been arrested.

In the second case, one person identified as Nitin Dashrath Ingle, working on contractual basis at the airport was intercepted when he was crossing staff exit point at the departure area and recovered six pouches containing gold dust in wax having net weight of 2950 grams valued at Rs. 2.62 crore from the pocket of the jacket worn by him. The above gold was handed over to him by a transit passenger. The person has been arrested.

The concealed gold Seized by Customs

The Customs officials are now probing about the transit passengers who had handed over the gold to the arrested persons and also who was supposed to receive the said smuggled gold.

Last week, the Airport Customs officials had arrested an immigration officer at the Mumbai airport along with a Bangladeshi national for allegedly smuggling 1.4 kilograms of gold dust worth Rs 1.2 crore from Dubai.