An Indigo customer service staffer and two others attempting to smuggle gold into Hyderabad were arrested on Saturday by officials with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. DRI officials found the airline employee in possession of 42 foreign marked gold bars worth Rs 1.84 crore.
Officials found the gold bars on the customer service officer, wrapped in tape in two packets. He was caught near the exit gate for international arrivals.
“When asked about the source of gold, the customer service officer said that he received the packets from two passengers, who had arrived by Emirates Flight EK-528 from Dubai on Saturday. On examination, the 42 foreign marked gold bars were found to be of 99.9% purity, valued at Rs 1.84 crores,’’ the DRI officials said in their press statement.
DRI officials later nabbed the two who handed the gold bars to the Indigo staffer. According to officials, all three admitted that the gold bars were being smuggled into the country. They did not have any documents to claim the gold either.
Further investigation is ongoing to identify others who were part of the smuggling ring, officials added.
Several such attempts have been made in the past to illegally smuggle gold into the city, but authorities state that they remain vigilant.
In August, customs officials arrested a man who tried to smuggle 9.2 kg of gold into Hyderabad, concealed as heating coils of dry iron boxes. Officials said the gold bars were in a 'V' shape and were concealed in the plates of the iron boxes, by replacing the heating coils.
However, based on a tip-off, officials managed to arrest the passenger who arrived from Dubai and seized the gold, estimated to be valued at Rs 3.46 crore.
In April this year, a passenger from Doha was caught while trying to smuggle gold in the form of a 'paste' in his trousers, worth nearly Rs 37 lakh. In March, a passenger was caught by officials while trying to smuggle around 350 grams of gold in the form of wristwatch dials.