The Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs Department busted a gold smuggling racket after four persons were caught smuggling gold. Two persons were initially intercepted at the airport with gold worth Rs 1.12 crore. Following this, the roles of two others were identified, and they too were apprehended.
As per specific information received by AIU officials, two persons —Lal Singh and Ratan Khan—were caught as they crossed the green channel at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. “They had landed from Riyadh in the wee hours on Sunday by Flynas Airline flight,” said an official, said.
The officials recovered 24 karat Gold Dust in wax (7 pieces) weighing 2,045 grams.” The provisional value of the recovered gold is nearly Rs 1.13 crore which they had concealed in their rectum, AIU officials said.
During the initial inquiry, Singh and Khan admitted to possessing and smuggling the seized gold but alleged that the gold did not belong to them. They claimed they were carrying gold for a monetary benefit of Rs 20,000 and 15,000.
Upon questioning them, officials identified the roles of two others—Gulam Shabir and Mustafa Raza— who were to receive the gold. The four accused were arrested at around 5 pm under sections 135(1) (a), 135(1)(b), 135 (1) (i) and 104 of the Customs Act along with section 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code, and produced before the court.
The AIU pleaded before the court that, “Investigation is at a preliminary stage and the nexus is yet to be revealed by the accused. Further, if the accused/ passenger is set free, they may flee the country and will not be available for further investigation, which is required to break the bigger nexus involved in smuggling activities. Also, if set free, they may influence and tamper with material evidence related to the smuggling activity, which may adversely affect the investigation.”
The Court remanded the four accused to judicial custody for 14 days.
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