Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested an Air India (AI) crew member and two flyers in connection with smuggling of gold bars worth nearly Rs 2 crore on Thursday.
The seizure comes close on the heels of a Rs2.3crore-haul at the international airport. Customs officials caught a flyer with 9.3 kg gold chains in the pockets of his cargo trousers last Thursday.
The AI staffer, Siddesh Patil, reportedly told DRI officers that he had smuggled in nearly 20 kg gold on five different occasions in the past. Patil was a key link in the gold smuggling syndicate, investigators said.
The two flyers, Sakina Barafwala and Piyush Soni, were carrying gold bars weighing nearly 14 kg. "They had collected the gold from a person in Dubai and they were supposed to handover it to Patil during their journey to Mumbai. The plan went awry after the two missed their flight," a DRI official said.
23/01/15 Vijay V Singh/Times of India
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The seizure comes close on the heels of a Rs2.3crore-haul at the international airport. Customs officials caught a flyer with 9.3 kg gold chains in the pockets of his cargo trousers last Thursday.
The AI staffer, Siddesh Patil, reportedly told DRI officers that he had smuggled in nearly 20 kg gold on five different occasions in the past. Patil was a key link in the gold smuggling syndicate, investigators said.
The two flyers, Sakina Barafwala and Piyush Soni, were carrying gold bars weighing nearly 14 kg. "They had collected the gold from a person in Dubai and they were supposed to handover it to Patil during their journey to Mumbai. The plan went awry after the two missed their flight," a DRI official said.
23/01/15 Vijay V Singh/Times of India
