Mumbai Customs department has recovered six kilogram gold worth Rs. 1.49 crore from a flight at the international airport about an hour before it was scheduled to take off for Muscat.
“Acting on a tip-off, 6E 81 Indigo Airlines flight that was to fly to Muscat, was rummaged last night following which the six gold bars weighing one kg each were discovered in toilets,” APS Suri, Commissioner of Customs, said.
The lustrous metal bars with an estimated value of Rs 1.49 crore were found concealed ingeniously behind the washbasin in the three toilets of the aircraft, he added.
As the search operation continued by the Customs, the flight could not take off and another flight was arranged for the passengers by the authorities concerned, said Milind Lanjewar, Additional Commissioner (Customs).
Customs sources said that the gold was suspected to have been hidden in the aircraft in Dubai by the smugglers so that their aides at Calicut in Kerala could retrieve it on Tuesday.
The airline operates flights in various cities including Dubai, Calicut, Mumbai, Delhi and Muscat among others.
