Police officers in Mumbai, India, arrested two Kenyans who had smuggled 18 kilograms of gold worth Ksh136.6 million into the country.
According to police reports, one of the suspects was a member of an international airline crew who aided and abetted the smuggling.
The duo was arrested at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on Thursday, February 9.
Police ranked the case as one of India’s biggest cases of gold smuggling in 2023.
Allegedly the gold was hidden inside the false cavity of the carriers’ baggage and was discovered by the police during the routine check at the airport.
One of the suspects had flown from Nairobi to Mumbai and was intercepted by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Customs.
Initially, he denied claims of having anything suspicious, but further investigations revealed he had taken gold from a person in Nairobi.
The second suspect was apprehended during his search, where 21 pieces of gold bars and one pouch of gold dust in wax form were recovered.
They will aid the police in further investigations to apprehend others involved in the crime.
According to the Indian Customs Act, it is an offence to carry gold without declaration. This is aimed at preventing injury to the economy of the country.
Authorities in Kenya also investigated how gold was smuggled from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to India.
In March 2022, two Kenyans were arrested in India, also possessing gold. The two had arrived in New Delhi from Nairobi through Addis Ababa.
According to police, one of the suspects admitted to having visited India four times carrying gold, noting that the other suspect was a first-timer.
Additionally, in 2021, 18 Kenyan women were arrested carrying gold hidden in shawarma and coffee bottles.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE