Two Mumbai residents arrested with gold worth Rs 8 crore in Kerala

Two Mumbai residents were arrested with over 8 kg of gold worth around Rs 8 crore during a check in Keralarsquos Palakkad reported the PTIThe arrested persons have been identified as Sankith Ajay Jain 28 and Hidesh Shivram Selanki 23The excise officials while briefing about the incident highlighted that the duo were intercepted during an inspection of a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation KSRTC bus from Coimbatore bound for Kottarakkara at the Walayar check post as reported by news agency PTIA search of their baggage revealed gold ornaments weighing 869 kg wrapped in polythene During the interrogation the accused claimed that they had travelled from Mumbai to deliver the ornaments to a jewellery shop in ThrissurHowever the excise officials found that the duo were travelling without valid documents While the accused were later handed over to the enforcement wing of the state GST department for further action Further investigation is still underwayHydroponic weed and gold worth over Rs 11 crore seized at Mumbai AirportIn a different operation officers of the Airport Commissionerate Mumbai Customs Zonendash3 seized hydroponic weed and gold worth over Rs 11 crore in multiple cases this weekDuring the threeday operation customs officers seized 8467 kg of hydroponic weed from a passenger arriving from Bangkok Furthermore they also recovered 2270 kg of 24carat gold dust along with 230 grams of 24carat gold jewellery from different passengers at Mumbai AirportIn one case based on spot checks and the Advanced Passenger Information System APIS profiling a Bangladesh national travelling from Male to Dubai via Mumbai was apprehended while allegedly handing over four ovalshaped packets of 24carat gold dust concealed in wax weighing 1460 grams and valued at Rs 186 crore to a staff member of a ground handling agency BWFSThe passenger was travelling on IndiGo flights 6E1132 Tuesday and 6E1451 Wednesday Both the passenger and the BWFS staff member were arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act 1962 customs officers saidHydroponic weed seizureIn a separate case based on specific intelligence customs officers recovered 8467 kg of suspected hydroponic weed from a passenger arriving from Bangkok The contraband is estimated to be worth Rs 8467 crore in the illicit marketThe passenger was arrested under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances NDPS Act 1985 officers saidWith inputs from PTI