DRI busts gold smuggling syndicate at Mumbai int'l airport; 11 held

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence DRI has exposed a smuggling syndicate involving some transit passengers and staff of Mumbai international airport and arrested 11 persons after seizing 3.35 kg gold worth Rs 2.1 crore, an official said on Sunday.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has exposed a smuggling syndicate involving some transit passengers and staff of Mumbai international airport and arrested 11 persons after seizing 3.35 kg gold worth Rs 2.1 crore, an official said on Sunday. The ring was busted after a suspected transit passenger was intercepted at the Mumbai international airport by DRI officers and 3.35 kg of gold was recovered in paste form. According to DRI, passengers involved in the smuggling of gold into India used to travel from Bangkok to Dubai and vice versa, and while in transit in India, they used to hand over the gold to the staff working at the airport. These airport staff used to carry the smuggled gold outside and hand it over to the next person in the chain at various places including a petrol pump located near the airport metro.

The DRI subsequently nabbed a man responsible for recruiting others at the airport for the clearance of gold while he was travelling from Delhi to Mumbai.

Based on the interrogation, the agency nabbed others who were managing the arrangement of transit carriers, collecting the gold and financing the smuggling operations.

This syndicate was involved in the smuggling of substantial quantities of gold daily using this novel modus operandi, a DRI official said.

''11 persons have been arrested in the above case so far. Further investigation is underway to expose the syndicates involved in the illegal inflow of gold into India,'' the official added.