DRI seizes 2.75 kg gold at Bengaluru airport; two Sri Lankan nationals, airport staffer caught

Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Wednesday caught two Sri Lankan nationals red-handed at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru for allegedly smuggling 2.75 kg of gold while transiting through the airport.

The two passengers, Mohamed Akeel Mohamed Asker, travelling from Singapore to Dubai, and Mahroof Mohammed Nasik, travelling from Dubai to the Maldives, were intercepted by DRI officials when they were allegedly about to hand over the gold to Ebin Jose, an Indian national employed by Travel Food Services (TFS) at the airport.

The interception followed suspicion that the gold was being transferred through an airport staff member while the two foreign nationals were in transit.

DRI officials suspect that the trio were working as mules for a gold-smuggling racket and are investigating the alleged role of the airport employee and the intended destination of the gold.

Another operation

In another operation, Customs officials arrested a passenger arriving from Delhi after allegedly seizing around 5 kg of suspected amphetamine, a stimulant drug, at Kempegowda International Airport on Wednesday.

The accused has been identified as Mohammed Mubarak, a native of Hassan district. He was intercepted by Customs officials after arriving on a domestic flight from Delhi.

Officials allegedly recovered about 5 kg of a substance suspected to be amphetamine from him. He was arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

Investigators are probing the source of the suspected contraband, its intended destination and whether the passenger was transporting the substance on behalf of others. The circumstances surrounding the alleged drug trafficking operation and the accused’s role are yet to be established.