1,102 gold smuggling cases at Mumbai airport in 12 months

NEW DELHI: As many as 1,102 cases of gold smuggling were detected at the Mumbai airport between November 2013 and October 2014, Parliament was informed today.

"The gold smuggled through the Mumbai airport was mostly originated from United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Iran," Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

He further said about 985.5 kilogram of gold valued at about 254.63 crore was seized during the November 2013-October 2014 period and 302 persons were arrested in this connection.

Five employees of airlines and seven of airport involved in smuggling of gold were also arrested.

Replying to a separate question, Sinha said pre-budget discussions are currently going on between the Ministry of Finance and the various administrative ministries and the Revised Estimates for 2014-15 would be finalised based on available resources and trend of expenditure.

He said this when asked whether the government has cut the expenditure on social sectors in Revised Estimates.