The Customs Department recently arrested five passengers who were smuggling gold from the United Arab Emirates to Mumbai. Four kg of gold with a market value of over Rs 1.5 crore was seized in the two separate operations. The action was taken by the Mumbai Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs Department. An investigation into four passengers arriving in Mumbai from the United Arab Emirates revealed that they had smuggled gold into India. Two of them had arrived in Mumbai on G9-401 from Sharjah and two on EY-206 from Abu Dhabi. They had brought it in the form of powder so that the gold could not be seen in the metal detector. A total of 3.6 grams of gold powder was seized from the four passengers. Its market value is Rs 1.56 crore. The passengers have been arrested under the Customs Act, 1962.
In another operation, a female passenger from Dubai was arrested. The action was taken on the basis of intelligence received from sources. She had hidden the gold in her underwear in order to seduce the investigating agencies. However, customs officials thwarted her move. 546 grams of gold and 868 grams of gold powder were seized from her. Its market value is 38 lakhs. The woman concerned has been booked under the Customs Act.