Gold bars worth over Rs 2.59 crore were seized from Jet Airways flight 9W 579 from Dubai at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai. The Air Intelligence Unit of Customs carried on a routine check-up of the flight once it landed in Mumbai. A Customs official said, "During the course of rummaging, the AIU officials recovered six gold bars, each weighing one kilogram each, with foreign marking, and six gold pieces, each weighing 2,990 grams."
The official also said that the collective worth of the gold seized was Rs 2,59,04,146 and weighed 8.9kg. "The unclaimed gold bars were covered with black adhesive tape and were hidden below the cushion of two seats," the official added.
The official informed that the gold was seized under provisions of the Customs Act due to 'reasonable belief' that it was being smuggled into the country.
The investigative agency has also sought help from the airline to figure out who was allegedly trying to smuggle the gold into India. A list of all crewmembers and passengers has been drawn up and they are likely to be questioned soon.
"A routine post-flight cabin inspection of Jet Airways flight 9W 579 Dubai-Mumbai on April 24, 2018, led to the recovery of certain contraband items. Our security team immediately informed the local authorities who took the items in their custody," said Jet Airways, as mentioned in a report in India Today.
Earlier this year, a 25-year-old Jet Airways airhostess, who was part of a network was caught carrying Rs 3.24 crore in US dollars to Hong Kong. The airhostess was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence after they searched the flight upon receiving a tip-off.
(With PTI inputs)