Acting on specific information, officers of Air Intelligence Unit rummaged and retrieved 8 kilograms of gold (8 bars of 1 kg each). These gold bars valued at Rs 1.99 crore were recovered from the reverse of the wastebin flapper assembly in the two rear toilets of a Jet Airways flight. The flight 9W-539 had arrived at Mumbai’s Terminal 2 from Muscat.
Passenger Segu Naina Mohamed Shektheen Sha, who was intercepted after the tip-off admitted to have concealed the gold inside the toilet. He said it was to be retrieved during the domestic leg of the craft to Kolkata. The passenger has been arrested and produced for seeking judicial custody.
“This is the biggest seizure of the year,” said an official from the Air Intelligence Unit. “The case was made since we had information about the consignment being brought in the flight,” added the officer. The nature of concealment was very deep and couldn’t have been retrieved by a passenger without tools. It would have required equipment.
The Jet Airways engineering crew was called in to dismantle the wastebin assembly and recover the gold. The aircraft VT-JFN was detained for 6 hours and finally released on personal surety of Jet Airways. The plane could also have been seized and impounded by Customs under section 115 of Customs Act.
