DRI arrests two handlers of a gold smuggling syndicate in Ahmedabad

DRI arrests two men in Ahmedabad in connection with a gold smuggling case at Mumbai airport. The accused were allegedly handlers in the smuggling operation.

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) ‘s Mumbai Zonal Unit has arrested two men from a hotel in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, who were the alleged handlers in a case related to the seizure of 4 kg of smuggled gold, worth ₹2.59 crore, at the Mumbai International Airport on January 16.

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The gold was seized from the alleged possession of two passengers who had arrived from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on a flight at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA). The arrest of the two handlers on Wednesday was a follow-up operation in the probe, a DRI source said.

The two accused allegedly had controlled the carriers and the receivers of the smuggled gold and were the key links in the supply chain, the source said. “On the day of the search, the said key members were waiting to receive the smuggled gold which had already been seized by the DRI on January 16, “ the source said. A sum of ₹5.21 lakh was also allegedly recovered from one of the handlers, which was subsequently seized as the proceeds of the smuggled gold under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962.