2 Indian-origin women held with 4kg gold in underwear

Airport Customs Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) arrested two Indian-origin foreign nationals for smuggling after they arrived from Singapore concealing 4kg gold jewellery worth Rs 1.2 crore in their undergarments on Saturday.

They also arrested a person waiting outside the airport to receive them and collect the gold. The gold was to be delivered to a shopkeeper in Bhayandar, who is wanted in the case. Customs officials have sealed his shop. A court remanded the accused to jail custody.

The receiver told officials that he played a limited role. He would collect the gold at regular intervals on the instructions of his Singapore-based handler. The handler would send the carrier’s photographs to the receiver on mobile. Officials who recovered photographs of several other women from the receiver’s mobile said some seemed to be models.

An official said the handler also used women who looked like high-profile executives, or were from affluent families and were well-mannered to avoid suspicion. Officials admitted that generally such people do not come under the radar.

The officials questioned Santaletchmi Superamaniam (41), a Malaysian, while she was crossing the Customs area randomly, about the purpose of her visit on Saturday. She told the officer that she had come for shopping and was going to Singapore the next day. The officer suspected something amiss as when Singapore is itself a shopping hub, why would someone from there come here.

When other officers questioned her, she told them about her accomplice, Magisvary Jairaman (59), a Singaporean who had crossed the Customs area. Officials took Magisvary back to the Customs area and asked both to pass through a metal detector, which showed they had concealed the gold in their upper and lower undergarments. A female Customs officer recovered 2kg gold chains from each of them. They told officials a receiver was waiting outside.

The handler had arrangements for rooms in three hotels near the airport in Andheri for the carriers. The receivers would collect the gold from them and the carriers would return to Singapore the next day.