Mumbai: Two held for smuggling Rs 1.6 crore foreign gold at Mumbai airport

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence DRI has arrested two contractual staffers of Air India Airport Service Limited AIASL for allegedly trying to smuggle foreignorigin gold valued at Rs 16 crore officials said on Sunday reported news agency PTIInvestigations point to a smuggling syndicate that used international passengers to hide gold in the aircraft on arrival which was later retrieved by the contractual staff with insider access an official said reported PTIThe two accused employees of Air India Airport Service Limited were apprehended on Saturday the official saidThe DRI had specific information that foreignorigin gold was being smuggled through the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai by concealing it within the aircraft and retrieving it through insider airport staff reported PTIAccordingly a discreet surveillance was mounted at the airportA team leader of the contractual staff was seen hurriedly placing a packet on the aerobridge staircase upon noticing the DRI sleuths the official saidThe packet was later recovered and found to contain gold dust in wax form concealed under a white cloth he saidThe contractual staff member was immediately apprehended and during interrogation he admitted to hiding the packet to avoid detection the official saidHe further told officials that his supervisor had retrieved the gold from an aircraft and handed it to him Based on his statement the supervisor was also arrested the official said reported PTIIn total 12 kg of gold dust of 24karat purity valued at around Rs 16 crore was seized under the Customs Act he addedGutka banned tobacco products valued at Rs 87 lakh seized in Thane districtIn another case the police in Maharashtras Thane district have recovered gutka and banned tobacco products valued at Rs 87 lakh from a vehicle an official said on Saturday reported PTIActing on inputs about gutka and other contrabands being smuggled from Gujarat a local crime branch intercepted a tempo on the Gandhar Bridge on the KalyanPadgha road early Friday morning he said reported PTIHowever the tempo driver tried to escape prompting the team led by senior inspector Ajit Shinde to chase it The cops managed to stop the vehicle after some distance reported PTIThe police subsequently recovered gutka and banned tobacco products worth about Rs 87 lakh from the tempo and arrested the driver the official saidA case has been registered at the Khadakpada police station under the Food and Drug Administration Act he saidWith inputs from PTI