Customs seizes gold worth Rs 32 crore at Mumbai airport; 7 held

Mumbai: Customs officials seized 61 kg of gold worth Rs 32 crore in separate operations at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here, making it the highest value seizure by the department at the airport in a single day, an official said on Sunday. At least seven travellers, five men and two women, were arrested in the seizures that were made on Friday, the official said.

This is the highest seizure in a single day in the history of the customs at the Mumbai airport, he claimed.

In the first operation, four Indians returning from Tanzania were found carrying 1 kg gold bars, which were concealed in specially-designed belts with multiple pockets, the official said.

Officials recovered 53 kg of UAE-made gold bars, worth Rs 28.17 crore, from the belts that the passengers had worn around their torso, he said.

The belts were handed over to the travellers by a Sudanese national at Doha airport during transit time, the official said.

The four travellers were arrested and remanded to 14 days judicial custody by a court, he said.

Similarly, customs officials seized 8 kg gold valued at Rs 3.88 crore from three passengers who had arrived from Dubai, he said.

The trio, including two women, were carrying gold dust in wax form, he said.

The gold was ingeniously concealed in the waistline of the jeans the travellers had worn, the official said.

One of the women was is in her late 60s and was on a wheelchair, he said, adding that the trio were arrested and remanded to judicial custody.