AIU arrested two Mumbai locals for aiding Kenyan nationals smuggle gold into city

Three months after the custom office arrested two Kenyan nationals, including a crew member of a Kenyan airline, for smuggling gold worth ₹6.37 crore into the city, two people were arrested on Thursday for their involvement in facilitating the sale and purchase.

The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) on Thursday arrested Ismail Mohamed Hussein Khatri, proprietor of M/S Khatri Wagadia export, which deals in textile and footware trade, and Manish Prakash Jain of M/s Manish Gold, a jeweler from Zaveri bazaar.

On February 11, Abdalla Ali Said, a Kenyan airline crew member, was arrested from Hyatt Regency with 22,826.500 grams of gold. Ibrahim Ali Hussein, the second accused in the case, received the gold from Said.

After receiving a tip-off about a large quantity of gold being smuggled into the city, a team of AIU officials worked in tandem with the Sahar police station to nab the accused.

The AIU investigated the case for three months to ascertain the involvement of locals involved, said officers. Khatri and Jain have been arrested under the provisions of the Custom Act, 1962.

“They were arrested for their involvement in dealing, handling, selling, purchasing and disposing of gold, weighing around 30 to 35 kilograms, valued at more than ₹9 crore,” said V Rama Mathew, commissioner of customs, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA).