15 gold bars recovered from under the seat of Air India plane at Mumbai airport
15 gold bars weighing 1.74 kg were found concealed in a hollow pipe placed under the seat (Representational Image)
Gold bars worth over Rs 47 lakh were recovered on Wednesday from under a seat of an Air India (AI) flight at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
According to an official, the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs searched the flight after it arrived from Abu Dhabi this morning. The sleuths were acting on a tip-off.
“During their search, 15 gold bars weighing 1.74 kg, were found concealed in a hollow pipe and placed under a seat,” he said.
The total value of the seized gold is around Rs 47,69,330, the official said.
“The unclaimed gold bars were seized under reasonable belief that they were smuggled into India without paying the Customs duty and in contravention of the provisions of the Customs Act,” he said, adding that further investigation was underway.
No suspect has been booked in connection with the matter till now. Officials are currently checking the CCTV footage in a bid to identify the person responsible.
