[REVISION HISTORY]

India gold smuggling crackdown expands

Updated 3 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-09 18:11 UTC → 2026-08-10 05:20 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has continued its intensive crackdown on gold smuggling across India. In May 2026, the DRI dismantled a major network via "Operation Golden Drop," seizing 3 kg of gold in egg-shaped capsules, and later arrested nine members of a syndicate at Mumbai airport, uncovering a gold-melting facility and seizing 15 kg of gold and 45 kg of silver across multiple cities. Smuggling methods involving aircraft infrastructure have become more prominent. In June 2026, authorities at Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport recovered 2.8 kg of gold hidden inside a lavatory speaker box on an IndiGo flight from Dubai, and intercepted another 2.8 kg of gold biscuits hidden in a speaker box. At Surat, 238 g of gold was found in an abandoned gold-coated bangle on an Air India Express flight from Dubai. In July 2026, the DRI arrested six members of an international syndicate moving gold from Dubai and Bangkok to Mumbai via transit passengers; the case was transferred to the CBI. The Goa Crime Branch also seized 1.3 kg of liquid gold hidden in the clothing of two Kerala suspects arriving from Dubai. Other significant seizures include 15.76 kg of gold recovered during Mumbai's "Operation Sky Vault" and "Operation Midas Mop," as well as gold paste and swallowed capsules intercepted at Ahmedabad and Delhi airports. ~~Most recently, on~~ On 9 August 2026, the DRI seized 2.165 kg of gold from a passenger on the Gyaneshwari Express at Nagpur Railway Station, which had been concealed in ~~newspapers to evade detection.~~ newspapers. On the same day, Ahmedabad Customs officials at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport seized 467.09 grams of gold paste concealed inside the body of a ~~24-year-old~~ passenger arriving from Jeddah via Doha.

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