The 26 women arrested over a multi-million gold smuggling attempt at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in India are now facing serious legal consequences, as well as the loss of the seized gold.
According to the arrest report seen by the Star, Indian authorities have invoked non-bailable offences that could see them jailed for up to seven years if convicted.
The women, all Somali, were arrested on April 8 after being found in possession of gold weighing 29.4kg and worth over Sh225 million. Indian investigators are treating the suspects as part of a coordinated smuggling operation.
The women were intercepted after arriving in Mumbai in the early hours of April 8 aboard flight KQ 202, which landed at about 2:40am.
According to the report, the passengers did not proceed to the customs declaration area as required. One of the 26 had been held for using a fake passport.
Instead, they remained within the airport precincts for several hours, only approaching the customs zone at around 11am, raising suspicion among authorities monitoring passenger movement.
The group then attempted to avoid clearance altogether by engaging airline staff and seeking to be placed on a return flight to their country of origin without formally entering India, triggering closer scrutiny.
Officials from India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) intervened and subjected the passengers to search procedures, during which the situation escalated.
The women became unruly, resisting requests from officers to comply with standard procedures.
Authorities say they obstructed officers in the course of their duties and undermined airport security protocols, further complicating the charges against them.
The searches led to the discovery of gold bars and jewellery of mixed purity weighing 29,373 grammes.
Although all 26 denied carrying contraband, the search led to the recovery of gold bars concealed inside their shoes. The discovery confirmed suspicions of organised smuggling activity within the group.
The suspects were unable to produce any documentation to demonstrate legal importation or ownership of the gold.
They also refused to receive official summons, declined to sign seizure records and failed to acknowledge the official inventory of confiscated items—actions investigators say further indicate intent to evade the law.
Indian officials believe the gold had been smuggled into India as part of a broader syndicate operation and would have been handed over to other network members for distribution had it not been intercepted.
A diplomatic source told the Star that the women are yet to be charged, as the “charge sheet takes a while”, but said they are likely to lose the gold.
However, the arrest report says the women contravened various sections of the Indian Customs Act 1962, provisions that deal with duty evasion and the handling of smuggled goods.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of up to seven years in prison, along with fines, given the high value of the seized gold and the estimated duty evasion of more than ₹13 million (Sh18 million).
More significantly, the offences have been classified as cognisable and non-bailable under Section 104 of the same law.
This means authorities were legally empowered to arrest the suspects without a warrant and that bail is not guaranteed, leaving their immediate fate in the hands of the courts.
