Mumbai airport: 40 arrested as Customs seizes Rs909 million in gold, drugs and luxury goods

Mumbai: Customs officers at Mumbai airport seized gold, narcotics, diamonds, luxury watches and other goods worth Rs908.9 million during a four-week crackdown that led to 40 arrests.

The operation, conducted between September 7 and October 4, resulted in 136 cases, according to Mumbai Customs Zone III.

The haul included more than 18kg of gold, nearly 116kg of narcotics, 71 iPhones and large quantities of foreign currency.

Gold and drugs account for biggest seizures

Officers recovered 18.04kg of gold valued at Rs217.2 million, while narcotics weighing 115.68kg accounted for Rs591.1 million of the total.

The drugs included hydroponic cannabis and 7.031kg of ketamine worth Rs210.9 million.

The ketamine was included in the overall narcotics valuation, rather than counted as a separate recovery.

The seizures were made during multiple inspections and enforcement operations at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, not a single interception.

Luxury watches, diamonds and iPhones

Customs also seized foreign currency worth Rs25.2 million, diamonds valued at Rs15 million and luxury watches worth Rs16 million.

Other recoveries included 71 iPhones, 144,400 cigarette sticks, refurbished laptops, perfumes and saffron, collectively valued at Rs44.4 million.

The wide range of confiscated items formed part of 136 cases registered during the reporting period, involving suspected customs violations and narcotics offences.

40 people arrested

Mumbai Customs said it arrested 40 people in connection with the cases.

The agency did not specify how many arrests were linked to gold smuggling, narcotics trafficking or other alleged violations.

The cases were registered under India’s Customs Act, 1962, and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

Authorities have not released a breakdown of the nationalities of those arrested or identified the international flight routes involved in the seizures.