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Not just gold, smuggling of other goods on the rise too at Mumbai International Airport

Including the gold seizure, a value of the total seizure at the Airport by AIU has also increased in the year 2017-18 two-fold.

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While cases of gold smuggling at Mumbai International Airport are already on the rise, the smuggling of currency, Narcotics substances and other dutiable goods like saffron, cigarettes are also on the rise. 

Including the gold seizure, a value of the total seizure at the Airport by AIU has also increased in the year 2017-18 two-fold.

While goods worth Rs 72.1 crore were seized in 2017-18, goods worth Rs 169.6 crore were seized last year.

Though the smugglers have been caught at the airport, the agency is facing several issues in detection due to low quality CCTV cameras installed at the airport. The CCTV gives grainy images that ultimately creates hurdle in conviction and also detection in many cases.

"We use these images to check the further linkages of the accused and to trace the accused's accomplices who handovers them the goods over collects it. It is also used as an evidence in some cases, but the grainy images lessen the chances to make it as an evidence as the cameras are of low quality," said an AIU official.

According to statistics, while currency worth Rs 9.36 crore was seized in the year 2016-17, currency worth Rs 16.69 crore was seized last year. The narcotics have also slightly on the rise.

According to the AIU officials, the currency smuggling has seen a new trend recently wherein the smugglers are preferring Euros to smuggle. The official says, in most of the cases, smugglers prefer Euros, as it has high exchange rate and also because it is easy handy despite being high in value. 

Surprisingly few Airport staffers are also involved in aiding to smuggle currency and the officials have recently nabbed a woman staffer who handed over a bunch of foreign currency to a passenger.

In past cases, the AIU had apprehended passengers carrying Euros by concealing it in the rectum.

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