Updated on: 18th MAY 2023 04:26 PM IST | Mumbai
S S NADAR | news@debotimes.in

The Mumbai Customs Department detained the foreigners on April 25 and seized a bag containing gold in melted form, worth nearly Rs 10 crore. On April 25, the Air Intelligence Unit of the Mumbai Customs Department detained the suspect foreigners and later seized a bag from their possession.

A city court in Mumbai has granted bail to nine Kenyan women who were arrested last month at the Mumbai international airport for allegedly smuggling 18 kilograms of gold worth nearly Rs 10 crore from Nairobi to India concealed in their luggage. The court Wednesday granted the foreigners cash bail of Rs 1 lakh each, observing that the women were in custody for sufficient time for investigation.

On April 25, the Air Intelligence Unit of the Mumbai Customs Department detained the suspect foreigners and later seized a bag from their possession. The bag contained 18 kg of gold in melted form, worth nearly Rs 10 crore. The Customs sleuths said that the foreign women were trying to smuggle the gold by creating a ruckus at the airport and getting the bag containing gold out.

The women — Ardo Noor, Shukri Farah, Kero Jama, Habiba Omar, Ebla Abdullahi, Anab Muhumed, Anisa Mubarak, Isnina Yusuf, and Zainab Mohamud — were arrested under the Customs Act.

Advocate Prabhakar Tripathi, representing the accused, said that the contraband gold was found unclaimed at the arrival hall, and in order to create a case, the Customs officials have shown the unclaimed baggage to be recovered from them and booked them in a false case. “They have no involvement in it. It has foisted recovery on them and never recovered from them,” Tripathi submitted in court.

“They are female. Many of them are sick, and two of them are having children aged 1 and 2 years. So keeping them in custody will not serve any purpose,” the lawyer submitted in court.

The Customs department opposed the bail application and submitted that the seizure memo was prepared and signed by them in token of having received the same. “The recovery was done in the presence of independent panchas. Their arrest is as per the provisions. The intended quantity of smuggled gold is unreasonably high, and the same was not declared by them,” the Customs officials said.

The officials submitted that the investigation is at the primary stage. If they are set free, they may flee from the country and would not be available for further investigation, which is required to break the bigger nexus involved in it. They may influence and tamper with material evidence, which may adversely affect the investigation, the prosecution submitted.

After hearing both sides, the court considered that the accused women were with the prosecution for a reasonable period of inquiry. The court held that foreign women will have to take permission from the court before travelling abroad.