The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence Mumbai Zonal Unit has dismantled a sprawling multinational gold smuggling syndicate, arresting six people at the airport and seizing gold valued at Rs 10.75 crore. Acting on specific intelligence inputs, officers swooped down on the Chhatrapati Shivaji महाराज International Airport and cornered the suspects. The operation uncovered a sophisticated network involving transit passengers traveling between Dubai, Bangkok, and Male through Mumbai, alongside an insider staff member deployed right inside the aviation hub.
Operation Midnight Goldstrike Nabs Six Suspects
On August 29, the DRI team executed Operation Midnight Goldstrike, catching an airport staff member red-handed while smuggling contraband out of the terminal. The accused employee was attempting to walk out carrying seven capsules containing gold dust molded into wax form. During subsequent questioning, the staff member confessed that transit passengers were actively collaborating with the syndicate to slip the precious metal past security checkpoints and out of the airport premises.
Recovery of 16 Capsules and Foreign Nationals Involved
Following up on the initial breakthrough, DRI officials tracked down other members of the syndicate and seized additional caches of gold. In total, 16 capsules weighing 6.859 kilograms of 24-karat gold dust were recovered, with an estimated market value of roughly Rs 10.75 crore. The entire lot was formally seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. All six individuals were placed under arrest, comprising five transit passengers who are all Bangladeshi nationals, alongside the single airport employee. Further investigation into the broader network remains underway.
Insider Involvement Raises Deep Security Concerns
Law enforcement authorities noted that the complicity of internal airport staff in organized smuggling syndicates poses severe national security and economic risks. The successful raid underscores the agency's ongoing commitment to disrupting organized smuggling rings through continuous, intelligence-led interventions. Similar illicit attempts have surfaced elsewhere across the country, including an earlier incident where gold worth over Rs 49 lakh was intercepted at Ahmedabad airport. In a separate incident at Bengaluru airport, CISF personnel apprehended an Indian traveler arriving from Dubai who had hidden 82 grams of gold capsules inside his mouth, highlighting the extreme methods smugglers employ.
