The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) caught gold being smuggled into India in paste form and arrested 18 Sudanese women as well as an Indian woman with 16.36 kg of the yellow metal valued at Rs 10.16 crore at the Mumbai airport, an official said on Tuesday.
The passengers were travelling from the UAE to Mumbai on April 24 and surveillance was mounted by a team of DRI officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
The suspected passengers in three flights were identified and intercepted by the team of DRI officers at the airport. A thorough examination led to the recovery of a total of 16.36 kg of gold in paste form, gold pieces, and jewellery.
Most of the recovered gold was found concealed on the bodies of the suspect passengers, making it extremely difficult to detect, said officials.
In a follow-up search at related premises, 1.42 kg of gold worth nearly Rs 85 lakh along with foreign currency worth Rs 16 lakh and Indian notes of Rs 88 lakh were also recovered, an official said.
This is a unique modus operandi busted by the DRI indicating the uphill task faced by the officers of the agency on a regular basis to check syndicates smuggling gold in various forms into the country, said sources.
Eighteen women from Sudan carrying the smuggled gold and an Indian woman who was coordinating the movement of the passengers were arrested, he said. Further investigation is in progress to identify others involved in the racket.
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