Authorities have busted a huge gold smuggling operation at Mumbai International Airport. 9.40 kg of gold worth about Rs 14.81 crore was seized from three passengers arriving from Dubai. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and Customs officials foiled their plan to smuggle the gold in powdered form and mix it with food items.

Going into details, the operation was jointly conducted by DRI Mumbai Zonal Unit and Customs Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) officials on September 23. Three Indian passengers who arrived at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport from Dubai were stopped on suspicion. During a thorough check of their luggage, it was found that the gold was hidden in packaged food products.

The gold was ground into a fine powder and mixed in food items like milk powder, oats, various types of starches, cake mix, coconut milk powder, Nutella, and cream boxes. The gold powder was mixed to match the color and texture of the food items, making it difficult to identify. However, upon suspicion, the officials, after a close inspection, seized about 33.50 kg of mixed food items from them.

Later, the gold was carefully separated from these mixtures using scientific methods. The officials confirmed that a total of 9.40 kg of 24 carat (99.99% purity) foreign gold was found. The market value of this is Rs. 14.81 crore, and they tried to evade tax to the government to the tune of about Rs. 5.9 crore through this smuggling.

During interrogation by the officials, the accused confessed that they were working as carriers for an organized smuggling gang. They have been arrested under the Customs Act, 1962 and further investigation is underway. Officials revealed that this smuggling method is highly sophisticated, and that they have intensified the investigation to catch the masterminds behind it.