Mumbai Customs seize drugs, gold, diamonds and foreign currency at airport

By Sitaram Mewati

Mumbai: Officers of the Airport Commissionerate, Mumbai Customs Zone–III, detected a series of drug trafficking, gold smuggling, diamond concealment and illegal foreign currency movement cases during the period from January 21 to January 29, 2026, according to an official press note issued on Wednesday.

  Based on spot checks and APIS profiling, customs officers booked two cases involving hydroponic weed. In these cases, a total of 10.561 kg of suspected hydroponic weed, valued at approximately Rs 10.561 crore in the illicit market, was recovered from two passengers who had arrived from Bangkok. Both passengers were arrested under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

  In addition, acting on specific intelligence inputs, officers booked two more cases of hydroponic weed smuggling. A total of 15.961 kg of suspected hydroponic weed, valued at around Rs 15.961 crore, was seized from two passengers arriving from Bangkok. The accused were arrested under the NDPS Act. Investigations revealed that the smugglers had attempted to conceal the contraband inside trolley bags carried by them.

  Apart from NDPS-related cases, customs officials also booked several cases involving gold smuggling. On January 27, one gold smuggling case was detected in which 1,470 grams of 24-carat gold valued at Rs 2.1 crore was recovered. The case involved a Bangladeshi transit passenger and an airport staff member. The contraband was allegedly handed over by the transit passenger to an employee of HRPL working at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Both individuals were arrested. The gold was concealed inside the body cavity.

  In four other gold smuggling cases, customs officers recovered a total of 2,162 grams of 24-carat gold valued at Rs 2.89 crore from four passengers. In these cases, the gold was concealed within the clothes worn by the passengers.

  Officials also booked one diamond smuggling case in which 10,660 carats, weighing 2,132 grams, of diamonds valued at Rs 1.81 crore were recovered from a passenger. The diamonds were concealed inside the check-in baggage

Further, three cases related to foreign currency smuggling were detected, leading to the recovery of foreign currency equivalent to Rs 1.18 crore from four passengers. The currency was concealed inside check-in and hand baggage. Customs officials said investigations are continuing to trace wider smuggling networks operating through international routes.

Editor in Chief : Mewati SItaram