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Mumbai: In a major crackdown on organised gold smuggling, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized 29.37 kg of gold valued at Rs 37.74 crore and arrested 24 carriers at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, the Ministry of Finance said in a release.
The action followed specific intelligence inputs about a group of female carriers arriving from Nairobi attempting to smuggle large quantities of gold into the country.
Based on the inputs, the DRI’s Mumbai zonal unit launched ‘Operation Dhahabu Blitz’ on Wednesday, which officials said could be among the biggest such busts at the airport this year. ‘Dhahabu’ is Swahili for gold.
“DRI received a tip-off about women coming from Nairobi in Kenya with hidden gold. Following this, 24 foreign nationals, who had landed at Mumbai Airport from Nairobi, were stopped. From their bags and clothes, 25.1 kg of gold bars and 4.27 kg of gold jewellery were recovered,” officials told PTI on Thursday.
Acting on specific intelligence and digital profiling, DRI officials tracked the group at Terminal 2 and maintained surveillance near the arrival area of flight KQ 202, choosing to intercept them after they crossed the green channel due to heavy passenger traffic.
Around 11 am, the passengers approached the green channel but moved away on noticing officials. Upon questioning, 25 identified themselves, while a 26th passenger had already been detained for attempting to use a fake passport.
All 25 initially denied carrying contraband. However, a search of two passengers led to the recovery of gold bars concealed in their shoes.
“Some of them began discarding objects wrapped in black tape near the luggage belts. We recovered multiple pouches containing melted gold bars. None claimed ownership,” an official told TOI.
Officials said the women appeared to be trained to conceal gold and evade checks, indicating a well-planned syndicate using carriers to bypass airport security.
The accused will be produced in court, and further investigation is underway to identify and nab the kingpins behind the racket, officials said.
Earlier this week, DRI uncovered a gold smuggling network at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport and seized gold worth Rs 5 crore, PTI reported. Five individuals have been arrested so far, with efforts underway to trace the masterminds.
Officials said the contraband was concealed in paste form inside capsule-shaped packets, highlighting sophisticated smuggling methods. Carriers used Bengaluru as a transit hub, exploiting longer layovers to enable covert exchanges within the airport.
“The gold was concealed on the body and transferred using a pre-arranged passcode system inside sensitive areas such as washrooms and smoking zones, thereby bypassing Customs scrutiny,” the agency said.
The probe also revealed insider involvement, with authorised access to restricted zones allegedly misused to move the contraband. Investigators said encrypted communication platforms with coded messages were used, and preliminary findings point to a larger cross-border syndicate involving foreign operatives and domestic handlers.
The operation, conducted on April 6 and 7 by the DRI’s Bengaluru zonal unit, led to the seizure of 3.356 kg of high-purity gold. Officials said the case underscores the growing sophistication of organised smuggling networks.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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The action followed specific intelligence inputs about a group of female carriers arriving from Nairobi attempting to smuggle large quantities of gold into the country.
Based on the inputs, the DRI’s Mumbai zonal unit launched ‘Operation Dhahabu Blitz’ on Wednesday, which officials said could be among the biggest such busts at the airport this year. ‘Dhahabu’ is Swahili for gold.
“DRI received a tip-off about women coming from Nairobi in Kenya with hidden gold. Following this, 24 foreign nationals, who had landed at Mumbai Airport from Nairobi, were stopped. From their bags and clothes, 25.1 kg of gold bars and 4.27 kg of gold jewellery were recovered,” officials told PTI on Thursday.
Acting on specific intelligence and digital profiling, DRI officials tracked the group at Terminal 2 and maintained surveillance near the arrival area of flight KQ 202, choosing to intercept them after they crossed the green channel due to heavy passenger traffic.
Around 11 am, the passengers approached the green channel but moved away on noticing officials. Upon questioning, 25 identified themselves, while a 26th passenger had already been detained for attempting to use a fake passport.
All 25 initially denied carrying contraband. However, a search of two passengers led to the recovery of gold bars concealed in their shoes.
“Some of them began discarding objects wrapped in black tape near the luggage belts. We recovered multiple pouches containing melted gold bars. None claimed ownership,” an official told TOI.
Officials said the women appeared to be trained to conceal gold and evade checks, indicating a well-planned syndicate using carriers to bypass airport security.
The accused will be produced in court, and further investigation is underway to identify and nab the kingpins behind the racket, officials said.
5 crore gold caught at Bengaluru airport
Earlier this week, DRI uncovered a gold smuggling network at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport and seized gold worth Rs 5 crore, PTI reported. Five individuals have been arrested so far, with efforts underway to trace the masterminds.Officials said the contraband was concealed in paste form inside capsule-shaped packets, highlighting sophisticated smuggling methods. Carriers used Bengaluru as a transit hub, exploiting longer layovers to enable covert exchanges within the airport.
“The gold was concealed on the body and transferred using a pre-arranged passcode system inside sensitive areas such as washrooms and smoking zones, thereby bypassing Customs scrutiny,” the agency said.
The probe also revealed insider involvement, with authorised access to restricted zones allegedly misused to move the contraband. Investigators said encrypted communication platforms with coded messages were used, and preliminary findings point to a larger cross-border syndicate involving foreign operatives and domestic handlers.
The operation, conducted on April 6 and 7 by the DRI’s Bengaluru zonal unit, led to the seizure of 3.356 kg of high-purity gold. Officials said the case underscores the growing sophistication of organised smuggling networks.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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