Passenger, airport ground staffers held with smuggled gold worth ₹3.45 crore at RGIA

The seized gold at the RGIA in Hyderabad.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 3.5 kilogram of smuggled gold worth ₹3.45 crore at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) on Wednesday. An Indian passenger from Dubai and two airport ground staff were arrested while attempting to pass the gold inside the terminal.

Acting on specific intelligence inputs, officers from the Hyderabad zonal unit of the DRI intercepted the accused, who arrived from Dubai via Muscat, near the aero bridge at the international arrivals area. He was caught in the process of handing over the smuggled gold to a member of the airport’s ground handling crew.

According to the DRI, the gold, 30 bars weighing 10 tolas each, had been concealed in three separate packets. It was being discreetly transferred to the ground staff member, who was tasked with moving it out of the secure zone. The plan was to deliver the contraband to another ground staffer stationed at the airport parking area, who would subsequently return it to the same passenger after he had cleared customs and exited the terminal.

The DRI stated that the gold was of foreign origin with a purity of 99.9%. Along with the contraband, packing material was also seized as evidence. All the three accused were arrested under provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and have been remanded to judicial custody.

Further investigations are under way.