Two Mumbai airport employees caught smuggling gold worth ₹5.5 cr

Customs officials at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai have arrested two airport employees for attempting to smuggle gold valued at ₹5.5 crore. 

In the first case, a lounge employee was apprehended while trying to exit through the staff departure gate. During a routine frisking by customs personnel, six pouches were found concealed in his undergarments. 

Upon inspection, the pouches were discovered to contain gold dust coated in wax, weighing approximately 2,947 grams, with an estimated market value of ₹2.48 crore. Investigations revealed that the gold was handed over to the employee by a transit passenger.

In a separate but similar incident, a contract worker employed at the airport was intercepted while passing through the same staff exit point. Gold was found hidden inside specially modified jackets he was wearing. The value of the gold recovered from the second individual brought the total seizure to ₹5.5 crore.

Both employees have been taken into custody, and further investigation is underway to identify the source of the gold and any larger network involved in the smuggling operation.