Mumbai Customs seize 180 tonnes of smuggled diesel from barge mid-sea; two held

Mumbai Customs officials have intercepted a cargo barge midsea and seized more than 180 tonnes of smuggled diesel concealed inside water tanks officials said on Tuesday reported the PTIThe vesselrsquos master and the son of its owner have been arrested in connection with the caseActing on specific intelligence Customs officers carried out a raid on the cargo vessel MV Tina 4 in midsea on Sunday During the inspection the barge was found to be carrying highspeed diesel that had allegedly been smuggled from foreign vessels according to the PTIOfficials said the diesel was concealed in water tanks and was intended to be supplied to local coastal boats and factories in order to evade customs duty The modus operandi was revealed based on statements recorded from the vesselrsquos master engineer and a representative of the shipping lineOne of the water tanks found on the barge was not part of the approved design sanctioned by the Indian Register of Shipping IRS officials addedMore arrests likely say officialsThe arrests were made following the intelligenceled operation Officials said further arrests are likely as investigations continue and a larger network involved in the longrunning diesel smuggling racket may be exposed as per the PTIOne of the biggest diesel seizures in recent timesCustoms officials described the seizure as one of the biggest operations carried out by Mumbai Customs involving a large cargo bargeSources said the company that owns the seized vessel operates several barges across the country as well as two tanker vessels The barge had been used for chartered bunkering services they added the news agency reportedGold worth Rs 215 crore at Mumbai airportMeanwhile Mumbai Customs on Monday said that the officers of Mumbai Customs ZoneIII have seized gold worth Rs 215 crore and apprehended a Bangladeshi passenger during the night shift of January 1718 2026 at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International CSMI AirportThe interception was made based on specific profiling by customs officialsAccording to Customs department the accused passenger arrived from Dubai on January 17 2026 and was scheduled to travel onward to Dhaka on January 18 2026During transit at Mumbai airport customs officers observed the passenger attempting to discreetly hand over suspicious packets to an airport staff memberGold dust worth over Rs 215 crore recoveredUpon interception officials recovered four ovalshaped packets containing 24carat gold dust concealed in waxThe total weight of the seized gold was 1590 grams valued at Rs 215 crore Mumbai Customs saidThe packets were allegedly being transferred to a staff of airport services company indicating an insiderassisted smuggling attemptAccused arrested under Customs ActFollowing the recovery both the Bangladeshi national and the AIASL staff member were arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act 1962Customs officials stated that further investigation is underway to ascertain whether the incident is part of a larger gold smuggling syndicate operating through international transit routesCustoms tighten surveillance at Mumbai airportOfficials emphasized that enhanced profiling intelligence inputs and strict surveillance at Mumbairsquos international airport have led to several such detections in recent months Customs authorities reiterated their commitment to preventing smuggling activities and safeguarding the countryrsquos economic interestswith PTI inputs