Rs 6 crore gold seized at Mumbai international airport, second biggest haul of 2023

MUMBAI: Customs officers arrested two persons, including a United Arab Emirates (UAE) national, with 10kg gold worth Rs 6 crore in two separate cases at the Mumbai international airport on Saturday. This is the second biggest seizure at the city airport this year so far. In February, two Kenyans were caught with 18 kg of gold worth Rs 9 crore.
The Air Intelligence Unit of Customs department received a tip-off and intercepted UAE national Yaqoob Mohammed Alblooshi who arrived from Dubai on Saturday and crossed the green channel without declaring anything and moved towards the exit gate.
The officials detained him and carried out a thorough check of his luggage which resulted in the recovery of 10 pieces of 24 karat gold weighing 9 kg worth over Rs 4.6 crore. He was produced before a holiday court which remanded him to judicial custody.
In the second case, Customs officers detained a passenger, identified only as Zeeshan, who was found to be carrying gold dust in wax form valued at Rs 1.1 crore. During interrogation, it was learnt that the gold was handed over to the lounge staff on departure by two Indian passengers transiting Mumbai.
In the last two months, eight foreign nationals have been caught by the Customs department and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence for smuggling. In January, two Azerbaijan nationals were caught with 6kg of gold worth Rs 3 crore, and in February, the Kenyans with 18kg gold, a Sri Lankan with 4kg gold worth Rs 2 crore, a Coimbatore resident with 6.4kg gold worth Rs 3.2 crore and a Bengaluru man with 3kg gold worth Rs 1.7 crore.