2 Philippines nationals, Adani lounge staff at Mumbai airport held for bid to smuggle gold worth Rs 2 crore

According to the Customs officials, the three arrested persons have been identified as Rubina Bano Khaja Pasha Shaikh, Mary Jane Mella and Maila Lacson Ordonez.

The three accused were produced before court on Thursday and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.

Sheikh is a resident of Malad (west) and works as a housekeeping staff in the Adani Lounge.

When contacted Adani, the officials refused to comment.

Mella and Ordonez are from the Philippines but currently stay in the United Arab Emirates.

The officials revealed that on the intervening night of April 9 and 10, their team received specific information that some international transit passengers were to handover gold to Shaikh.

“Accordingly, the officers of Customs went to the Adani Lounge (East) located at Level – 4 of the international departure transit area to identify and conduct a personal search of the housekeeping staff,” the AIU officials said.

During initial inquiry, Shaikh confessed to the crime and revealed that she had received two pouches from two foreign nationals and had hidden it inside the staff toilet of the Adani Lounge.

“She had received the two pouches inside the common toilet following which she took it inside the staff toilet and hid it there,” said an officer.

“Thereafter, the Custom officers in the presence of the Panchas and Mrs. Rubina Bano Khaja Pasha Shaikh searched the staff toilet situated at the Level – 4 of the Adani Lounge (East) and recovered two heavy pouches concealed in two different panties containing gold dust in wax form,” the customs authorities told the court on Thursday.

The pouches consisted of 24 karat gold dust in wax form and the gross weight of the seized gold is 3736 grams which is worth Rs 2.06 crore.

Subsequently, the officials recorded the statement of Shaikh who claimed that the gold belonged to the two foreign nationals and her job was to hand them over to the receivers outside the airport for which she was going to get Rs 20,000.

Mella and Ordonez were also traced and arrested by the custom authorities who in their interrogation admitted to the crime.

The two foreign nationals further said that each one of them was paid United Arab Emirates Dirham 1000 for delivering the gold to Shaikh.

The authorities then registered a case under sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 135 (1) (B) and 104 of the Customs Act, 1962 following which the accused were arrested Wednesday.