Man who tried to smuggle gold worth Rs 30 lakh held at CSIA

Mumbai: The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) arrested a Mumbai-based businessman at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) for allegedly smuggling gold worth Rs 30 lakh on Saturday morning. Ayas Ahmed Hafizullah Ansari (51) claimed that he was merely acting as a carrier but officers suspect him to be the main man running a smuggling racket. Ansari is a frequent traveller.

Ansari, a resident of Agripada,  arrived from Dubai by SpiceJet flight SG-14. A search on his person resulted in recovery of gold bars totally weighing 999 grams, which valued at around Rs 30 lakh.

Arrested on the basis of profiling, the gold was concealed in the shoes he was wearing. According to the interrogation, Ansari has been running a business of textile fabrics. His business has been for domestic sale as well as for import and export. He had allegedly been to Dubai on April 4 with an intention to smuggle gold.

According to AIU officials, Ansari has travelled five times to Dubai from January to March this year, which is being checked. However, the businessman claimed his frequent travel were all business trips. He has been summoned for questioning on Monday. An AIU official said, “We are digging if he has links to the gold cases in the past.”