Mumbai Customs seizes rare antique coins smuggled from London

Officers of the Airport Commissionerate Mumbai Customs ZonendashIII uncovered a rare smuggling attempt involving antique coins arriving from London The seizure took place during duty checks on a passenger who landed on Virgin Atlantic Airlines Flight VS354 from London on 9 FebruaryCustoms officials recovered a collection of historically significant coins includingGold Coin weighing 1237 grams East India Company Bengal Presidency Gold Mohur from Murshidabad Mint bearing the name of Shah Alam II AH 1202RY 19Gold Coin weighing 800 grams Ancient Kushan Empire Huvishka Gold DinarSilver Coin weighing 1144 grams Mughal era Jahangir Silver Rupee with Zodiac Sign Cancer Ahmadabad MintThe operation highlights sophisticated smuggling methods targeting Indiarsquos antique numismatic heritage The passenger is currently under investigation and authorities are tracing the origin and intended destination of the coinsThis seizure marks one of the rare instances of historical coins being smuggled into the country prompting increased vigilance at international airportsMumbai Customs seize US dollars weed gold and diamonds worth crores at airport multiple passengers heldEarlier in January Mumbai Customs said that officers of the Airport Commissionerate Mumbai Customs ZoneIII made several significant seizures including US dollars weed gold and diamonds worth croresThe operations were carried out between January 21 and January 29 2026The actions were based on passenger profiling intelligence inputs and routine checks at Mumbai airport officials saidCustoms officials registered four cases involving hydroponic weedldquoTwo of these cases were identified through spot checks and APIS profiling while the other two were based on specific intelligencerdquo officials saidWeed seizure casesAccording to Mumbai Customs in the first two cases 10561 kg of suspected hydroponic weed was recovered from two passengers arriving from BangkokIn the second set of cases 15961 kg of suspected hydroponic weed was recovered from two other passengers also arriving from BangkokThe total value of the seized narcotics in the illicit market is estimated at around Rs 26522 crore All four passengers have been arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances NDPS Act 1985The suspects attempted to conceal the contraband inside their trolley bagsGold smuggling casesCustoms officers also intercepted five gold smuggling cases recovering a total of 3632 grams of 24karat gold valued at around Rs 499 croreOn January 27 2026 1470 grams of gold worth approximately Rs 21 crore were seized in a case involving a Bangladeshi transit passenger and an airport staff memberThe gold was handed over to a staff member of Hardcastle Restaurants Private Limited HRPL at Mumbai airport by the transit passenger Both individuals were arrestedldquoThe gold was concealed inside the body cavityrdquo an official saidIn four other cases 2162 grams of gold were seized from four passengersDiamond smuggling caseIn a separate case Mumbai Customs officials seized 10660 carats 2132 grams of diamonds valued at Rs 181 crore from a single passengerThe diamonds were concealed inside the passengerrsquos checkin baggageCurrency seizuresMumbai Customs officers also booked three cases involving foreign currency recovering a total equivalent of Rs 118 crore from four passengers The currency was hidden in both checkin and hand baggage officials said