The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai Zonal Unit (MZU), has dismantled two organised gold-smuggling syndicates operating through Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai, seizing 15.764 kg of 24-carat foreign-origin gold valued at approximately ₹23.63 crore and arresting eight persons under the Customs Act, 1962. The back-to-back operations, conducted between 22 and 24 July 2026, expose a sophisticated airport-based smuggling network with international tentacles.

Operation Sky Vault: Gold Hidden Aboard Aircraft from Addis Ababa

In Operation Sky Vault, carried out between 23 and 24 July 2026, DRI officers intercepted three foreign passengers who had arrived in Mumbai from Addis Ababa. An intensive search of the aircraft led to the recovery of 12.004 kg of foreign-origin gold bars, valued at around ₹18 crore. Preliminary investigations revealed that the passengers had concealed the gold bars inside the aircraft itself, intending for the contraband to be retrieved covertly after landing.

Operation Midas Mop: Gold Dust in Wax Smuggled via Dubai Flight

In a separate intelligence-led operation, Operation Midas Mop, conducted between 22 and 23 July 2026, DRI officers intercepted two aircraft cleaning staff members, one passenger, and two other syndicate members. The operation yielded 3.76 kg of 24-carat foreign-origin gold dust in wax form, valued at approximately ₹5.63 crore.

According to investigators, the passenger had concealed the gold inside an aircraft arriving from Dubai. The contraband was to be covertly retrieved by cleaning staff and smuggled out of the airport for delivery to handlers outside the premises — a method that exploits airside access privileges.

Earlier Bust on 17 July: Filipino Nationals Among Six Arrested

These operations follow an earlier DRI crackdown on 17 July 2026, when the agency busted another international gold-smuggling syndicate and arrested six persons, including three Filipino nationals. The accused included Mumbai residents Himanshu Upadhyay, Mohid Hasan Siddiqui, and Feroz Sayyed, along with Philippine nationals Lakim Alimudin Nasser, Benny Lloyd Olivo, and Christine Joy Andaya Pornasdoro.

During interrogation, those arrested revealed that the syndicate trafficked gold through transit passengers arriving from Dubai and Bangkok, with the alleged connivance of certain individuals employed at CSMIA.

Broader Network Under Investigation

The DRI has stated that further investigations are underway to identify additional syndicate members and unravel the full scale of the networks involved. The agency said these operations reaffirm its commitment to intelligence-led enforcement against organised gold-smuggling, aimed at safeguarding the country's economic security and protecting the integrity of its financial system.

Notably, the repeated use of airport ground staff and cleaning crews as retrieval agents points to a systemic vulnerability in airside access controls at CSMIA — one that investigators are now scrutinising closely.