08 October,2018 07:25 AM IST | Mumbai | Anurag Kamble
The crude gold was seized by the Air Intelligence Unit of Mumbai Customs
The Air Intelligence Unit of Mumbai Customs arrested four people for smuggling crude gold worth Rs 1.86 crore, from Bangkok on Sunday. They were caught before smuggling it to Delhi. One of them had brought the gold from Bangkok and given it to the other three at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
On October 6, officers of the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) got information that crude gold was to be smuggled to Mumbai from Bangkok. One of them, Rakesh Kumar, a resident of Haryana, had arrived from Bangkok by Jet Airways flight no. 9W069 and was going to Dubai by Jet Airways flight no. 9W558 the same day. "At the toilet near the departure lounge of the airport, Rakesh Kumar handed over the gold to three persons," said an officer from Mumbai Customs.
The three persons were identified as Virender Singh, Surender Singh and Dayanand, all from Haryana. They were going to Delhi from Mumbai by an Air India flight. They were detained and during a search, officers found 5 bracelets, 7 pendants and 11 chains, of crude gold totally weighing 6,545 gms and worth Rs 1.86 crore.
Rakesh Kumar said he was told to carry the gold from a company named Giriraj Trading Co. Ltd. located at Bangkok, as informed by one Dilbag Chahar. He was paid Rs 20,000.
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Virender Singh, Surender Singh and Dayanand had been paid Rs 15,000 each. They were told to carry the gold from Mumbai to Delhi. "All the accused have confessed to having knowledge of the smuggled gold, Rakesh Kumar admitted to bringing it without paying proper Custom Duty. We are probing where these three people were taking the gold and who is Dilbag Chahar," said another officer.
Also Read: Mumbai Crime: 2 kg gold worth Rs 56 lakh seized at international airport
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