2 men held in Mumbai for smuggling silver worth Rs 2.58 crore from Thailand

The two men had landed in Mumbai from Thailand with 172 kg of silver items. The silver was being smuggled in by declaring it as imitation jewellery, officials said.

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The two accused, identified as Praveen Kumar Gupta (37) and Azar Khan (29), were allegedly carrying these silver items while flying to India from Thailand via Thai Airways flight TG-351. (Representational Photo)

The customs department in Mumbai on Thursday arrested two people on charges of smuggling silver jewellery, wallets and watches worth Rs 2.58 crore from Thailand. The silver was being smuggled in by declaring it as imitation jewellery, officials said.

The customs department had recently received information that silver or gold was being smuggled through flights from Bangkok, Thailand. Based on this information, in March, the department seized the jewellery and other items weighing 172 kg from two passengers who had arrived at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. Their investigation revealed that the seized items were made of silver and not the imitation jewellery as claimed by fliers.

The two accused, identified as Praveen Kumar Gupta (37) and Azar Khan (29), were allegedly carrying these silver items while flying to India from Thailand via Thai Airways flight TG-351.

During questioning, both allegedly admitted to being aware of the presence of silver in the jewellery and said they were smuggling it for a commission of Rs 12,000. A case under the Customs Act was registered and they were arrested, officials said.

Gupta, a Kolkata resident who works in a coal mine in Chhattisgarh, allegedly smuggled 80 kg of silver and Khan, an unemployed resident of Jhansi, 90 kg, a source said.

The accused have allegedly revealed the names of their associates and the customs department is further investigating the matter.

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