DRI officials intercepted Zakia Wardak, the consul general of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, at the Mumbai airport recently. They recovered 25 kg of gold worth Rs 18.6 crore that she was allegedly attempting to smuggle into India from Dubai. The incident took place on April 25, and a case of gold smuggling under the Customs Act, 1962, has been filed. The gold has been confiscated, a TOI report stated.
According to sources, Wardak was not arrested because she has diplomatic immunity. According to the law, if the value of smuggled gold exceeds Rs 1 crore, the suspect is arrested and subjected to criminal prosecution. Sources mentioned that Wardak possessed a diplomatic passport issued by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
