Spurt in gold smuggling by airline crew

A spurt in the involvement of airline staffers in cross-border smuggling of gold has the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence concerned.

The agency has asked all stakeholders at airports across the country to exercise due diligence in checking such practices.

The latest arrest was of a Jet Airways steward, who allegedly tried to smuggle out U.S. dollars worth Rs.2.6 crore to Hong Kong on board a flight from Mumbai, to buy gold for sale in India. According to sources, gold purchased abroad could fetch a minimum profit of Rs.2 lakh per kg, even when travel expenses are taken into account.

In May last year, the agency had arrested two flight crew members of Virgin Atlantic at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi for allegedly carrying 6 kg of gold. Last July, a Jet Airways flight attendant was arrested with 3 kg of gold at the same airport.

Similar cases have been reported at the international airports in Chennai, Tuticorin and Bangalore, where ground staff of airlines such as Spice Jet and Air India were allegedly found involved.

Lax checks

According to agency sources, the increase in such cases is due to a relaxed approach towards checking the belongings of airline staffers. They know all the cavities in the plane where they can conceal the gold to evade detection. It is suspected that international flight crews often work in collusion with their counterparts in the domestic flights.

In several cases, DRI sleuths seized gold concealed in aircraft toilets, under the seats and even stuffed into the hollow aluminium rods of the seats and in the cavity underneath oxygen masks.

Airport sources said that the airline staffers work either independently to make money through smuggling of gold, or as couriers for gold traders in lieu of about Rs.30,000 per kg.

It is suspected that a substantial chunk of smuggled gold goes undetected and makes its way into major cities. In January, the DRI seized 80 kg of gold worth Rs.21 crore from different parts of Delhi. The most recent case was the seizure of 30 kg of the precious metal from a vehicle near Mahipalpur on January 27.