Three Iranians held by DRI for smuggling gold worth Rs 6.28 crore at Mumbai airport

The recovered gold

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Friday said that it has nabbed three Iranians for allegedly smuggling gold at Mumbai Airport.

According to an official statement, the officials of the DRI in Mumbai intercepted three Iranian nationals based on specific intelligence who were traveling from Dubai to Mumbai

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It said that a personal search of the passengers revealed 7 one-kilogram foreign-marked gold bars and one cut piece of a foreign-marked gold bar hidden in waist bags which was concealed under their clothes.

Two of the passengers allegedly admitted to smuggling the gold at the request of the third passenger in exchange for monetary benefits. The third passenger also confirmed their statements, the officials said.

"A total of 7.143 kg of smuggled gold which is valued at Rs 6.28 crore, was recovered and seized. The three passengers were arrested under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. Further investigations are ongoing," the officials said.

CISF foils smuggling attempt at Mumbai airport, seizes synthetic diamonds worth Rs 4.93 crore

Meanwhile, in an another incident, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Tuesday said that it foiled an attempt to smuggle synthetic diamonds worth Rs 4.93 crore at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International (CSMI) Airport in Mumbai.

According to officials, the incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, when Bharatbhai Govindbhai Nathani, an Indian passenger, arrived at Terminal 2 for his journey to Bangkok via NOK Airlines Flight DD 939. After completing check-in formalities, he proceeded to the security screening area with his hand baggage.

During the screening process, CISF officer Subodh Kumar noticed something amiss in Nathani's laptop bag. A closer inspection revealed a suspected object hidden inside the laptop's battery compartment, prompting authorities to check the bag further.

Following subsequent physical checks, CISF discovered 26 transparent packets containing synthetic diamonds, weighing approximately 2,147.20 carats, with an estimated market value of Rs 4.93 crore.

Following the seizure, the passenger was handed over to the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) and Customs officers at Mumbai airport for further investigation. Authorities are probing whether the smuggling attempt was part of a larger international racket.