Gold worth Rs 3 crore seized at Mumbai airport, two held

Mumbai Customs officers have seized smuggled gold worth around Rs 3.15 crore in two separate cases involving passengers arriving from Dubai, including a finance professional who allegedly told investigators he attempted to move his assets to India amid tensions linked to the ongoing US-Iran war.

According to an official statement issued by the Airport Commissionerate, Mumbai Customs Zone-III, the first seizure was made on May 10 after officers intercepted a passenger arriving on Spicejet flight SG5023 from Dubai based on APIS profiling. During the examination, customs officials recovered four pouches containing 24-carat gold dust mixed in wax, weighing 1.02 kg net and provisionally valued at Rs 1.41 crore.

In a clever man, the passenger had allegedly concealed the gold inside a packet of cigarettes. In the second case, customs officers intercepted a passenger arriving from Dubai on Emirates flight EK 506 and recovered 1.257 kg of 24-carat crude gold worth around Rs 1.74 crore. Officials said the passenger, described as a high-income professional working in the financial sector, was arrested under the Customs Act, 1962.

During preliminary questioning, the passenger allegedly told investigators that fears arising from the US-Iran war and recent attacks in Dubai prompted him to move his foreign assets to India by converting them into gold and smuggling them to avoid duties and regulatory scrutiny. Further investigation is underway in both cases, officials said.