DRI Busted Sudanese Gold Smuggling Syndicate

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials busted an attempt to smuggle gold at the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The officials arrested 18 Sudanese women and an Indian woman while attempting to smuggle gold weighing approximately 16.36 kilogram worth nearly INR 10.16 crore in the form of paste.

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The officials acted on special intelligence report that gold in the form of paste was going to be smuggled into the country by a group of passengers travelling from UAE to India. The DRI had mounted surveillance at the airport. The suspected passengers, who were travelling in three flights, were intercepted at the airport. The search operation recovered gold, which was mostly found concealed on the body, making it difficult for detection by routine procedures.

The Indian woman was reportedly co-ordinating the movement of passengers. All the culprits were arrested. Further investigations are already underway, said DRI officials.

After analysis of the gold smuggling data during the eleven-month period from April 2022 to February 2023, the Customs Department had recently said that the Mumbai International Airport has emerged as the largest hub for gold smuggling in the country. During this period, a total of 604 kilograms of gold worth INR 360 crore were seized from the airport.