Unclaimed gold bars worth ₹2.59 crore found under aircraft seats at Mumbai airport

Three cases of gold and foreign currency smuggling have been reported at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) since Saturday.

Gold bars worth Rs2.59 crore were found under passenger seats of an aircraft on Tuesday.

According to the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU), the unclaimed gold was hidden under the cushion of two seats of the aircraft which had arrived from Dubai. The gold bars were wrapped in black adhesive tapes. Authorities are investigating about the suspects. A case has been registered against unidentified suspects.

In another case, a flier was arrested for allegedly carrying undeclared foreign currency equivalent to Rs30.77 lakh on Saturday. According to the AIU, Ramanlal Waghela, carrying an Indian passport, was intercepted before he could board a flight to Dubai.

“The currency was concealed in two cylindrical cardboards and was wrapped by an aluminium foil,” said a senior AIU officer. The foreign currency includes $29,200 and 68,000 dirham.

As observed in the past cases, foreign currency is concealed and taken to Dubai to buy gold which is smuggled back into India.

In a similar development on Sunday, one Mohamed Iqbal, with an Indian passport, was caught at the Mumbai airport for allegedly carrying foreign currency illegally. The incident took place around 11.20pm during the security check before boarding at the Security Hold Area (SHA) of the international terminal (T2). Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) sub-inspector DV Lanah found 15,000 euro (approximately Rs12 lakh) concealed in Iqbal’s waist belt while frisking him.

The passenger was to fly to Bangkok. His flight was to depart around 12.15am. Iqbal could not produce valid documents for carrying foreign currency. The matter was immediately forwarded to senior CISF officers and later handed over to airport customs officials for legal action.