2 Mumbai airport cleaning staff held for smuggling Rs 1.6 crore foreign gold
Mumbai (PTI): The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested two cleaning staff at Mumbai airport for allegedly trying to smuggle foreign-origin gold valued at Rs 1.6 crore, officials said on Sunday.
Investigations point to a smuggling syndicate that used international passengers to hide gold in the aircraft on arrival, which was later retrieved by the airport staff with insider access, an official said.
The two accused, employees of an airport services company, were apprehended on Saturday, the official said.
The DRI had specific information that foreign-origin gold was being smuggled through the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here by concealing it within the aircraft and retrieving it through insider airport staff.
Accordingly, a discreet surveillance was mounted at the airport.
A team leader of the cleaning staff was seen hurriedly placing a packet on the aerobridge staircase upon noticing the DRI sleuths, the official said.
The packet was later recovered and found to contain gold dust in wax form, concealed under a white cloth, he said.
The staff member was immediately apprehended and, during interrogation, he admitted to hiding the packet to avoid detection, the official said.
He further told officials that his supervisor had retrieved the gold from an aircraft and handed it to him. Based on his statement, the supervisor was also arrested, the official said.
In total, 1.2 kg of gold dust of 24-karat purity, valued at around Rs 1.6 crore, was seized under the Customs Act, he added.
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
