Two Indians caught for smuggling gold at Mumbai airport

Two Indian passengers were caught smuggling gold on Monday night at Mumbai airport. The duo was identified as Milanoor Mohammed Asif who arrived by flight AI 331 (Bangkok-Ahmedabad via Mumbai) and Rubeena Begum, who arrived by Oman Airways flight. Both were caught following a random check in the green channel as they were carrying the gold in their hand baggage.

Around 2 kg gold was recovered from the duo. Both were charged Rs. 50,000 and were released on bail. While Asif was caught with 850 grams of gold Rubeena had 920 grams in her possession. The total value of the yellow metal caught by the AIU was around Rs.51,000.

According to a Mumbai Customs Officer a lot of smugglers have been apprehended from AI 331. "More officers are alert and on rounds, doing random checks, during arrival of few flights coming from Bangkok, Dubai, Singapore, Colombo and Madagascar."

He further added, "There has been a new trend that has been seen of late. Many female smugglers have been caught with gold. Though there isn't much change in the modus operandi, in a recent case a smuggler had hidden gold bars in socks and shoes by taping them.

The officers in the latest case maintained that investigations were on, and the two caught were released on bail at around 8 am on Tuesday.