Passenger & airport ground staff held with Rs 1.50 cr gold

An air passenger and his aide, who is a ground staff at the Mumbai International Airport, were today arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle in gold worth Rs 1.50 crore from Thailand, customs officials said.
The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport's ground staff Rohan Surve was intercepted on suspicion and after scanning his bag, as many as 40 gold bars weighing six kg were found meticulously concealed in it.
"Surve's interrogation revealed that he was assisting Kiran Choudhari, who landed here in a flight from Bangkok with the gold. Surve, who was promised commission, was tasked to hand over the yellow metal to Choudhari outside the airport by hoodwinking the security agencies," Milind Lanjewar, Additional Customs Commissioner (Customs), told PTI.

The two accused were arrested and their statements were recorded, during which they confessed to the crime.
The officials suspect that Surve and Choudhari might have succeeded in their attempts earlier.
In the past too, ground staff were found to be involved in such cases, the Customs said, adding that the sleuths have been keeping a strict vigil on the airport workers.