Gold worth over 3.5 crore seized in separate incidents at Mumbai Airport
Gold worth Rs 3.38 crore was recovered from the hand-baggage of a Chinese woman (picture) and worth 19 lakh from the waistline of a domestic flyer’s denim trousers
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel seized gold worth over Rs 3.5 crore in separate incidents on Friday and Saturday at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
In the first incident, a Chinese woman was apprehended on Friday for allegedly trying to smuggle gold bars worth around Rs 3.38 crore to the country.
According to officials, Cong Ling had landed at Mumbai as her Beijing-Delhi China Air flight was diverted due to bad weather in the national capital.
During a routine check, CISF officials checked her hand baggage, which led to the recovery of 10 gold bars. The gold bars weighed 1 kg each and were cumulatively valued at nearly Rs 3 crore 38 lakh.
The woman confessed to possession, concealment, and ownership of the gold bars, following which she was booked under relevant sections of the Customs Act and placed under arrest.
In the second case, a passenger was found with gold worth Rs 19 lakh on Saturday.
Mohammed Ibrahim S was intercepted at Mumbai Airport on Saturday night after undergoing the mandatory physical frisking before boarding a Vistara airline flight to Chennai.
Around 540 grams of gold was recovered from the passenger, which he had concealed it in the waistline of his denim trousers, officials said.
The gold, worth about Rs 19 lakh, and the passenger have been handed over to the customs authorities for further investigation.
