Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) busted a gold smuggling racket and arrested 18 Sudanese women as well as an Indian woman with 16.36 kg of the yellow metal in paste form valued at ₹ 10.16 crore at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here, an official said on Tuesday.
In a follow up search at related premises 1.42 kg of gold valued approximately at ₹ 85 lakh along with foreign currency worth ₹ 16 lakh and Indian notes of ₹ 88 lakh were also recovered, he said.
Based on specific intelligence that gold in paste form is going to be smuggled into India by a syndicate of passengers travelling from the UAE to Mumbai on Monday, DRI officials mounted a surveillance at the city airport, the official said.
Passengers suspected to be part of the syndicate travelling in three flights were identified and intercepted by a team of the DRI at the airport, he said.
During their search, the DRI recovered 16.36 kg of gold in paste form, gold cut pieces and jewellery, collectively valued at ₹ 10.16 crore, said the official.
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