Indian, Sri Lankan man held with Rs 4 crore 'smuggled' gold at Mumbai airport

The two passengers were supposed to take an Air India flight to Bengaluru but were 'offloaded' and handed over to Customs authorities.

An Indian and a Sri Lankan national were apprehended and alleged smuggled gold worth about Rs 4 crore was seized from their possession by the CISF personnel at the Mumbai international airport on Tuesday, a senior officer said.

The two were being tracked by the officials of the force as they exhibited 'suspicious' behaviour. Once one of them picked a bag lying near a boarding gate inside the terminal-2 of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport around 4 am, they were nabbed, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officer said.

The bag contained 23 pieces of oval-shaped gold blocks, weighing about 8,800 grams in total, that are estimated to be worth about Rs 4 crore, he said.

The two passengers, an Indian and a Sri Lankan man, were supposed to take an Air India flight to Bengaluru but were 'offloaded' and handed over to Customs authorities for further investigation, the officer said.

The two told the CISF personnel that the bag was thrown near boarding gate no 46 by an international transit passenger, he said.