DRI seizes 10.5 kg gold worth Rs 12.58 cr at Mumbai airport, arrests 13 people

New Delhi, Oct 11 (PTI) The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has cracked down on a gold smuggling syndicate and seized 10.5 kg yellow metal worth Rs 12.58 crore and arrested 13 people, the finance ministry said on Saturday.

In an operation code-named "Operation Golden Sweep", foreign nationals, airport staffers and other members of an international gold smuggling syndicate were apprehended at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International (CSMI) Airport, Mumbai, and seized 10.488 kg of 24 karat foreign-origin gold, valued at approximately Rs 12.58 crore, it said.

The 13 persons arrested include two Bangladeshi, six Sri Lankan nationals, two airport staff of a meet-and-greet service, two handlers and the mastermind in Mumbai.

Investigations revealed that a trans-national syndicate adopted a sophisticated modus operandi wherein transit passengers from Dubai to Singapore, Bangkok, and Dhaka via Mumbai acted as carriers, concealing gold in egg-shaped wax capsules inside their bodies, the ministry added.

Upon arrival in Mumbai, these transit passengers discreetly handed over the smuggled gold to complicit airport staff within the international departure area. The staff then illicitly removed the smuggled gold from the airport premises and delivered it to handlers and receivers, who coordinated with the mastermind.

The syndicate, operated by masterminds based in Mumbai and Dubai, employed transit passengers, airport staff, handlers and several layers of receivers, it said. PTI JD HVA