The Mumbai Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) detained a foreign person namely, Sahra Mohamed Omar at Mumbai Airport in a key operation for attempting to smuggle gold worth roughly Rs 1.63 crores into the country. The arrest came after she was found concealing a substantial amount within her clothing, along with wearing gold accessories on her body.
She was arrested when she was discovered hiding a significant amount under her clothes which revealed her elaborate smuggling attempt.
Case registered against the accused
The Kenyan woman who hails from Nairobi, arrived at Mumbai via Kenya Airways flight (KQ202) on Sunday morning. When going through the airport customs, the officers and the authorities discovered that she had concealed gold and was also wearing some on her body.
It was found that the amount found would approximately weigh around 3.5 kgs with an estimated value of ₹1.63 crores.
The accused holds a United Kingdom and Northern Ireland passport. After the arrest a case was registered by the Mumbai Customs and she was then taken into custody. Later was presented before a local court which sentenced her to a 14 days long judicial custody.
According to the Customs Departments Air Intelligence Unit (AIU), Omar was apprehended near the exit gate of the Customs Arrival baggage area after crossing the green channel and heading towards the main exit. According to the Customs officers investigation, they found 17 pieces of 22-carat melted bars hidden in her innerwear and also 21-carat jewellery concealed in her body.
She was then detained and held in judicial custody for 14 days under different parts of the Customs Act. When in court, the customs officer stated that if she is granted bail, she was very much able to flee from the country and not be present for further investigations. He further added that the investigation is necessary to break the line of people involved in the smuggling and also, she might tamper or influence the retrieved evidence.
Gold smuggling racket busted
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recovered 7.4 kilograms of foreign origin gold worth ₹4.51 crore at the Mumbai International Airport last month. During the investigation, the DRI authorities discovered it in the form of dust mixed with wax. Six foreign people were detained under the Customs Act of 1962.
DRI authorities seized 4.28 kgs which were worth approximately ₹3.32 lakhs from the melting facility. The authorities were given an input about the passenger arriving from Dubai suspected of carrying gold, which led to this seizing. The individuals who were involved in the smuggling are believed to be part of an international network. The operation was conducted based on intelligence indicating that a passenger from Dubai would confidentially leave the gold on the aircraft, which would later be retrieved by ground staff later.
During the investigation, a security staff member was also arrested leading to the discovery of concealed gold within his shoes. Many more inquiries revealed that additional gold packages and a full-fledged investigation is now underway, encompassing scrutiny of the entire syndicate network, including potential smuggling links in the acquisition of gold.
More smuggling instances
This is not the first time a traveller has been caught with gold at an airport. In August, a traveller was detained at Trichy airport after flying in from Kuala Lumpur with gold worth Rs 8.9 lakh hidden in Nutella jars. An officer claimed a gold bar of 24,000 purity weighing 149 grams and valued Rs 8.9 lakh was found in powdered form in two jars.
In another example, customs authorities at Hyderabad airport confiscated 1.7 kilograms of gold worth Rs 1.03 crore from two travelers in July. In march, customs officials in Bengaluru intercepted a traveler who was trying to smuggle gold worth Rs 69.4 lakh into the country.
