In a unique modus operandi to smuggle gold, the Mumbai customs intercepted a passenger arriving from Dubai while smuggling gold in the wheels of his luggage at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).
According to the customs, a passenger was intercepted which led to the recovery of sixteen pieces of “washer shaped” and mercury coated gold. The round shaped gold pieces weighing 400 grams and valued at Rs 17.96 lakh which were concealed in wheels of two trolley baggage. In the past, the customs have found smugglers concealing the metal in their footwear, mobile phones, suitcases, undergarments, clothes and even their rectums.
Smugglers keep finding newer ways to hoodwink the authorities at the airport and this method is the latest in a string of hidden-gold hijinks at the CSMIA.
Sources stated that some passengers deliberately avoid paying customs duty while bringing gold from abroad as payment of the duty will offset the cost advantage as gold is cheaper in some other countries.
The agency has been taking actions for possession, carriage, concealment, recovery and smuggling gold into India without payment of proper customs duty and in contravention of the provisions of The Customs Act. Last week, the Mumbai Customs intercepted a passenger who had also arrived from Dubai carrying twenty units of Apple iPhone Pro Max and gold dust worth Rs 83 lakh at the CSMIA.
20/01/21 Pratik Salunke/Free Press Journal
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