As a cover for a group involved in the smuggling of gold from Sri Lanka, a souvenir shop at Chennai airport has been revealed. According to The New Indian Express, Mohammed Sabir Ali, the proprietor of the store, was enlisted by the syndicate to assist them in smuggling gold.

Ali and seven of his workers have been detained by Customs for their part in the two-month-long smuggling of 267 kilograms of gold valued at ₹167 crore.

In the departure lounge of Chennai airport, Ali opened a retail souvenir store called Airhub. According to sources, an Abu Dhabi-based member of the Sri Lankan gold smuggling gang paid Ali ₹70 lakh to facilitate Ali's lease acquisition for the shop.

Chennai

Despite the fact that 29-year-old Sabir Ali had no prior experience operating a store, the syndicate hired him after viewing videos on his YouTube channel, shoppingboyz. Additionally, the syndicate was the one who proposed the concept of setting up business at Chennai airport to aid in the smuggling of gold.

The syndicate educated Ali and his seven workers; via their business, they bought gold from travelers and sent it to recipients outside the airport. The former YouTuber and the staff were paid ₹3 crore in commissions for a two-month period in exchange for this.

On June 29, though, their plan fell apart when a Customs officer discovered one kilogram of gold powder at the store. The officer had suspicions about one of the employees. Ali and his other employees were then arrested after the employee and the transit rider who had smuggled the gold were taken into prison.

Since the eight members of the group were simply contract employees, the Customs department is currently looking into how they were all able to obtain identity cards issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). They were exempt from security checks thanks to these identity cards.

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