03 May,2026 05:43 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
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The Customs department has seized electronic items, cosmetics, cigarettes and crude gold cumulatively worth more than Rs 1.79 crore from passengers arriving at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport from Dubai, resulting in the arrest of one person, an official said on Sunday, reported PTI.
The operation was conducted by the Airport Commissionerate of Customs between May 1 and 2, he added.
"Two separate cases were registered against two passengers based on spot profiling. They had arrived by Emirates flight with smuggled items like electronic items, cosmetic goods, cigarette valued at Rs 84.37 lakh. In another case, eight brown-tape-wrapped packets were recovered from the commode of both rear-end aircraft lavatories after detailed rummaging," he said, reported PTI.
He said 695 grams of 24 karat crude gold worth Rs 95.32 lakh was seized from one passenger who had arrived in a SpiceJet flight. The man has been arrested, the official added, reported PTI.
The seizures highlight ongoing vigilance against smuggling through passenger profiling at the Mumbai airport, he said.
In another case, police have arrested a man after seizing mephedrone valued at Rs 86 lakh from his possession in Maharashtra's Navi Mumbai township, officials said on Sunday, reported PTI.
While patrolling around 2 am on Saturday, a police team spotted a suspicious individual near a housing complex in the Ulwe area.
Upon checking, the accused was found in possession of 344 grams of mephedrone (MD) valued at around Rs 86 lakh, an Ulwe police official said, reported PTI.
The accused, identified as local resident Ravi Khatik, was arrested and booked under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, he said, reported PTI.
During interrogation, the accused told the police that two persons had handed over the contraband to him for sale, the official said, adding that a search was on for them.
Meanwhile, police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday, reported PTI.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said, reported PTI.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said, reported PTI.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed, reported PTI.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
