Air India engineer arrested for smuggling 8 cut pieces of gold in Mumbai

The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Customs Department on Tuesday night arrested two persons, including a senior superintendent engineer of Air India, for trying to smuggle gold from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

The official, suspected to be involved in a gold smuggling case, was trying to move eight cut pieces of gold worth Rs 44.10 lakh.

A statement by the airport authority on Wednesday said that on the intervening night of November 14 and 15, the officers of Air Intellegence Unit in CSI Airport intercepted Janardan Gunaji Kondvilkar, the engineer superintendent.

He was intercepted while exiting the aerobridge after attending to his duty on flight AI-331, which had arrived from Bangkok. The gold pieces were seized under the provisions of the Custom Act (1962).

During the course of further investigation, a receiver of the seized goods by the name Vijay Jagdish, who was waiting outside the CSI Airport, was also intercepted.

Soon after the person waiting outside the airport admitted to have knowledge of the seized gold. Both of them were arrested.

In his statement, Janardan admitted to possession, carriage and recovery of the gold bars.

Janardan, who has been working with the airline since several years, was tasked with conducing technical checks while the plane was parked at the taxing bay. He reportedly transported the gold to receivers outside the airport in lieu of a certain share.

Further investigation has been launched to ascertain the source of the gold and nab other accomplices, if any.

Back in 2016, a senior Air India pilot was arrested for trying to smuggle gold worth around Rs 15 lakh in the city. The gold was recovered from his checked-in luggage and hand baggage.