12 January,2017 04:30 PM IST | | Gaurav Sarkar
The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) at Mumbai airport arrested a passenger travelling from Riyadh, and seized 10 gold bars worth over Rs 29 lakh from him. He was scheduled to leave for Mangalore via a Jet Airways flight
It seems that repeated seizure of gold in varying quantities and the innovative ways in which carriers hide them, have made the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport all the more alert. In a similar incident on Wednesday, the officials arrested a passenger Mohammad Althaf Moidin (30), travelling from Riyadh, and seized 10 gold bars worth over Rs 29 lakh from him. He was scheduled to leave for Mangalore via a Jet Airways flight.
Four gold bars were hidden in a torch
After the AIU officials intercepted Moidin, they conducted a personal search and checked his baggage as well. Following this, they recovered the gold bars weighing 1.1kg. Of the 10 bars, six were concealed in his wallet and the remaining four were packed inside the battery case of an LED torch. All the bars were wrapped in black adhesive tape.
An AIU official said that a case has been registered against Moidin and he was arrested. However, as the gold that he was trying to smuggle was not worth over '1 crore, he was subsequently released on bail. The AIU has summoned him on Monday for further interrogations in the matter.
