Tamil Nadu: Opened shop at Chennai airport to help gold smugglers

Chennai: Mohammed Sabir Ali, owner of the retail shop Airhub at the Chennai International Airport, which was allegedly a front for the Sri Lankan gold smuggling gang, was funded by a gang member living in Abu Dhabi as he did not have the financial means to deposit Rs 70 lakh to obtain the lease, sources said, citing the Customs Department investigation. Sabir Ali and his seven employees have already been arrested after it was revealed that they had helped smuggle 267 kg of gold worth Rs 167 crore within two months through the shop located in the airport’s departure lounge. Airhub had secured the contract from Vidveda PRG, the authorised concessionaire, to lease out retail spaces in the Chennai airport. A source in Vidveda said they have terminated their agreement with Airhub soon after the smuggling racket came to light. Ali and his seven employees were recruited by the syndicate and trained to smuggle gold handed over by transit passengers to receivers outside the airport. The shop sells toys, souvenirs and bags. Sources said Ali, who is 29 years old and lives in Chennai, was approached by the syndicate through his YouTube channel (Shoppingboys) to be their front for gold smuggling. It was the syndicate that gave him the idea of ​​opening a retail shop after they received details of prominent advertisements put up by Vidivedha PRG on billboards. Sources also said Sabir Ali had no prior experience in the retail business but with seed money given by the syndicate through a Sri Lankan in Abu Dhabi, he managed to pay the deposit amount sent through middlemen, sources said, citing the investigation. The shop was finally opened in February this year, sources said. Sabir Ali recruited his workers on contract basis through an online job portal. According to customs officials, Sabir Ali and his employees at Airhub earned a commission of about Rs 3 crore in the last two months. Sources said the customs department is also investigating how the eight employees of Airhub obtained identity cards provided by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), as they were only contract workers who were not on the rolls of the airport concessionaire. This is a violation of airport rules, sources said. The Chennai airport director did not respond to TNIE’s calls or messages seeking comments on the matter.