NEW DELHI: Seven people were arrested at Indira Gandhi International Airport by the customs department after a gold smuggling racket was busted in a 24-hour-long operation. While three of them were passengers, four airline staffers belonging to IndiGo and SpiceJet were also allegedly involved in helping smuggle the gold, officials said.
The department says the incident occurred on July 20, when based on suspicion and a prior tip-off, three passengers arriving at the Delhi airport’s Terminal-3 (T3) from Jeddah via flight number QR570 were intercepted after they crossed the green channel. A detailed personal and baggage search was initiated and that resulted in the recovery of two gold bar pieces and a gold biscuit from the baggage of two passengers.
“The three items, weighing around 517 grams and with a value of about Rs 22.9 lakh, were recovered from the bag of two out of the three passengers,” said a senior customs official. Interrogation later revealed that the third passenger had allegedly handed over the gold to an IndiGo staffer.
“On the basis of interrogation, it has transpired that three members of a syndicate of IndiGo and one member of SpiceJet were also involved in smuggling of gold and they have admitted their involvement in smuggling of 960 grams of gold previously,” said the customs in a statement on Saturday.
In the past, several airline staffers have been caught assisting smugglers, often carrying gold. In some cases, the airline staff is handed over gold just before the green channel to dodge officials.
Customs says the group has so far smuggled gold worth about Rs 72.5 lakh. All seven have been taken into custody and placed under arrest under Section 104 of the Customs Act. “Further investigation is in progress to determine if more gold had been smuggled in the past in a similar manner and if more members were involved,” said an official.
IndiGo in a statement on Saturday said,” A customs investigation has highlighted the involvement of an employee in a case relating to illegal movement of gold. We are fully cooperating and assisting the concerned authorities in this investigation.” SpiceJet did not comment on the matter.
