2 Indian-origin women smuggling 4 kg gold jewellery in underwear arrested in Mumbai airport

Two Indian-origin foreign nationals have been arrested for smuggling four kilograms of gold jewellery worth Rs 1.2 crore in their undergarments by Airport Customs Air Intelligence Unit (ACIU)  at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai after they arrived from Singapore.

The ACIU officials informed that the duo were arrested on Saturday. 

The two arrested have been identified as Santaletchmi Superamaniam, 41, a Malaysian citizen and Magisvary Jairaman, 59, a Singaporean national. 

According to the airport authorities, an AICU official randomly asked Superamaniam regarding her purpose of visit to Mumbai was she was crossing the customs area. She told the officer she was here for shopping when he doubted their behaviour. After observing her behaviour for a while the officer asked her to pass through a metal detector. 

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The airport official further added that after the alarm rang a female AICU officer thoroughly checked her and  recovered two kilogram of gold jewellery hidden in her underwear. 

An AIU official requesting anonymity said, “During questioning she revealed that she was being accompanied by another foreign nationalist Jairaman and their receiver who was to collect the gold from them was waiting outside the airport.”

He further added that Jairaman was stopped as she was leaving the airport campus. “She was also carrying two kilograms of gold hidden in her underwear.”

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The man was also arrested for questioning. He told the AIU officials that he was asked by his Singapore-based handler to collect gold from the two women whose photos were provided to him by his carrier. 

AIU officials on questioning the three have learnt that people involved in the international-gold racket usually used woman who looked like high-profile executives or were from affluent families to avoid suspicion.