Overview

• DRI officials intercepted Bharat Chamanlal Sheth, a 71-year-old disabled man, arriving from Bangkok on Thai Airways flight TG 317 at Mumbai airport.
• 14 gold bars, weighing 6,735.42 grams and valued at approximately ₹6.30 crore, were found ingeniously concealed in the sole of his shoe for his amputated leg.
• The passenger identified an accomplice, Chintan Sanghvi, who was subsequently arrested for purchasing the smuggled gold using hawala channels.
• The smuggled gold was seized under the Customs Act, with authorities citing the attempt to evade an estimated ₹2.42 crore in import duties.
• This incident is part of a broader pattern of sophisticated smuggling operations at Mumbai airport, including earlier cases involving synthetic diamonds and other gold seizures.