Mumbai airport smuggling saga: Six Indian nationals coming from Gulf held with gold hidden in pen refills, wax

PTC Web Desk: In a dramatic crackdown at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, customs officials arrested six Indian nationals from the Gulf who were allegedly involved in a sophisticated smuggling operation by concealing gold in pen refills, wax and dust.

The accused Indian nationals —three from Sharjah, two from Dubai, and one from Jeddah—demonstrated remarkable ingenuity in their methods of concealment. During routine customs checks, officials found gold chains and rods weighing about 5 kg hidden in body cavities, clothes, ballpoint pen refills, and even spectacle boxes. 

During 1–9 July, 2024, Airport Commissionerate, Mumbai Customs Zone-III seized over 16.01 Kg Gold valued at Rs. 10.08 Cr & Foreign Currency valued at Rs. 0.48 Cr across 22 cases. Gold was found concealed in clothes, in refills of pen, on the body & in body. Six Pax were arrested. pic.twitter.com/KkzjVsK6gl

— Mumbai Customs-III (@mumbaicus3) July 10, 2024

This is just one chapter in an ongoing saga of smuggling at the Mumbai airport. Between July 1 and July 9, customs officials reported 22 such cases, seizing over 16 kg of gold valued at more than Rs 10 crore, along with foreign currency worth Rs 50 lakh. 

In a separate case, 13 Indians arriving separately from Dubai, Muscat, and Sharjah were caught with gold hidden in their undergarments, luggage, and between layers of paper. The stakes are high, and the rewards can be substantial. In one instance, a foreign national from Sharjah was found with an undeclared gold chain weighing 260 grams, while two Indians attempting to fly to Bangkok were intercepted with foreign currencies worth over Rs 48 lakh hidden between layers of cardboard in a polythene bag.

Perhaps the most audacious discovery was made on an IndiGo flight, where customs officials found four gold bars weighing a total of 467 gram and valued at over ₹29 lakh. The bars were ingeniously hidden in a pouch under a seat. Not to be outdone, another Air India Express aircraft yielded two pouches of gold dust worth over Rs 2 crore, concealed under the life jacket under a passenger seat.