Action-packed 72 hours for AIU: From drugs to gold to saffron

Victor Van Niekerk was caught with drugs worth Rs 4 crore

The Air Intelligence Unit is having a busy April -- it has filed six cases with the biggest involving a South African smuggling Metha-qualone worth R4 crore.

Drug bust
On Tuesday, Victor Van Niekerk (26), leaving for Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET-611, was intercepted. Twelve packets of a white powder, purported to be Methaqualone, weighing 11.9 kg and valued at R4 crore, were found on him.

Niekerk had hidden the drugs in a blue carbon packet beneath round-neck T-shirts in his checked-in bag.

Of gold and saffron
The AIU also intercepted two who had concealed gold bars in their rectum -- Samina Shaikh (31), a Goregaon resident who had arrived from Bangkok with three gold bars weighing 229 g valued at R6.87 lakh, and Dinesh Chellani (30), a resident of Ulhasnagar who had arrived from Dubai with one gold bar weighing 186 g valued at R5.58 lakh.

Amit Bhostekar (33), a Bangkok Airways senior security officer, was caught with three bars in all weighing 2.6 kg valued at R78 lakh.

A Thane resident and three others were caught with gold, while three Kasargod residents were found with 26.075 kg saffron valued at R32,59,375.