DRI seizes gold, iPhones worth Rs 4 crore at Goa’s Manohar International Airport

Panaji: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence at Manohar International Airport in Goa has seized gold and iPhones worth nearly Rs 4 crore from three passengers who had arrived from Abu Dhabi, an official said on Sunday.

A senior DRI official told PTI that passengers Irfan (30) from Uttar Pradesh, Kamran Ahmad (38) from Mumbai and Mohammad Irfan Ghulam (37) from Gujarat were intercepted by the anti-smuggling agency at the airport in North Goa on Friday night.

During a search, DRI officials recovered 5.7 kg of gold in paste form and 28 high-end iPhone 15 Pro Max devices, collectively worth Rs 3.92 crore, from the trio, he said.

The accused are part of a syndicate operating between Mumbai and Dubai, the official said.

The passengers travelled to Abu Dhabi on October 12 from Mumbai and returned with the goods, which they were trying to sneak in, at the Goa airport.

While the iPhones were wrapped in packets kept in checked-in baggage, the gold paste was concealed in the waistband of two passengers.