Drugs, gold, and foreign currency worth Rs 8.47 crore seized at Mumbai Airport; two passengers arrested

Drugs were found concealed inside the body cavity of a passenger from Tanzania.

Officers at the Airport Commissionerate, Mumbai, Zone-III, seized contraband during a series of operations carried out on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. The seizures included narcotics, gold, and foreign currency, with an estimated total illicit market value of approximately Rs 8.47 crore. Two passengers were arrested in connection with the cases.

On Friday, customs officers, acting on profiling, intercepted a passenger arriving from Tanzania. Upon examination, they recovered 55 capsules containing a white, crumbled substance, which was confirmed to be cocaine, weighing 751.00 grams. The illicit market value of the seized narcotics is estimated to be around Rs 7.51 crore. The drugs were found concealed inside the body cavity of the passenger and were also ingested. The passenger was arrested under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

In a separate operation, customs officers intercepted two passengers arriving from Baku (Azerbaijan) and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), respectively. Upon examination, 24 KT gold dust weighing 1.01 kg, provisionally valued at Rs. 75.47 Lakh, was found concealed inside the body cavity of one passenger. Additionally, 24 KT gold bars weighing 150 grams, valued at Rs. 11.2 lakh, were concealed inside the shoes of the second passenger. Both the passengers were arrested under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962.

On the same day, officers of the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU), based on profiling, intercepted a passenger departing from Mumbai to Dubai. During the search, they recovered 1 lakh Saudi Riyals, equivalent to Rs. 22.4 lakh. The currency was concealed within the clothes kept in the passenger's trolley bag.