61 kg gold seized at Mumbai airport in biggest single-day catch by Customs

Customs officials seized 61 kg of gold worth Rs 32 crore at Mumbai airport in what is claimed to be the biggest single-day seizure by the department.

There were two women among the seven passengers arrested in two smuggling cases on Friday, a senior official disclosed on Sunday.

In the first operation, four Indians returning from Tanzania were found carrying gold bars, which were concealed in specially-designed belts with multiple pockets, the official explained. Officials recovered 53 kg of UAE-made gold bars, worth Rs 28.17 crore, from the belts that the passengers had strapped around their body.

The belts were handed over to the travellers by a Sudanese national at Doha airport during the transit time, the official said.

Similarly, customs officials seized 8 kg of gold valued at Rs 3.88 crore from three passengers who had arrived from Dubai. The trio, including two women, were carrying gold dust in wax form. One of the women was is in her late 60s and was in a wheelchair.

The gold was hidden in the waistline of the jeans the passengers were wearing.

The seven people were produced in court and have been remanded to judicial custody. Further investigations are on to find more details about the India links of the smuggling syndicate.

Also read: 85.5 kg gold seized at Delhi air cargo complex as DRI busts massive smuggling racket