9 kg gold worth over 2.5 crore found concealed under seat cushions of Jet Airways flight in Mumbai
The gold bars are collectively valued at approximately Rs 2.59 crore
In a major haul, the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Mumbai Customs recovered 12 gold bars weighing nearly 9 kg and worth over Rs 2.5 crore from a Jet Airways flight at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
On the basis of specific information, AIU officials inspected a parked Jet Airways flight earlier today. During their search, they recovered 12 gold bars concealed below the cushion of two seats.
Of the 12 gold bars, six bars were of 1,000 grams each while the remaining six were cut pieces weighing approximately 2,990 grams in total.
The gold bars, carrying international marking, are valued at approximately Rs 2.59 crores.
The bars were seized under the provision of the Customs Act, 1962, but did not result in any arrests. However, further investigation to trace the carriers/smugglers is currently underway.
Update:
Official statement from Jet Airways about the recovery:
Pls refer to our statement: pic.twitter.com/YClIRqUYKD
— Jet Airways (@jetairways) April 24, 2018
The incident comes less than a week after AIU officials seized 10 unclaimed gold bars from inside the toilet of an Air India aircraft. The gold bars, of 10 tolas each, were valued at Rs 33.2 lakh.
The bars, recovered during a search conducted on the basis of specific intelligence, were concealed below the tissue paper casing near the mirror mounted on the right-hand side toilet located at the rear end of the aircraft.
On the same day, gold worth Rs 28.72 lakh was also recovered during the personal search of two foreign nationals.
