Mumbai airport authorities find Rs 70 lakh worth gold in men's washroom

The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Mumbai customs are on a lookout for a suspect after they found nearly 2kg of gold worth Rs 70 lakh in a washroom's at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport early Wednesday.

AIU officials said they examined CCTV camera footage of the airport, which helped them find vital clues as to identify the suspects.

Officials said that the gold, wrapped in black tape, was recovered from the dustbin of the men’s washroom opposite conveyor belt 5. The gold was found in the form of assorted gold jewellery weighing 1.3 kg and nine gold bars bearing foreign markings collectively weighing 1kg.  

The AIU officers feel that the suspects realized that several AIU officers were deployed around the conveyor belt and so dropped the seized items in the dustbin unnoticed.

"We have identified four passengers of whom we suspect that one of them may have dumped the gold fearing the AIU officials. We have summoned them for inquiry. As far is the gold is concerned, it may have be brought into the country from Singapore or Bangkok. We’re also checking if any airport authority is behind this," said AIU official