RAS question
How much gold was seized under DRI's Operation Golden Sweep at Mumbai airport?
Correct answer: (D) 10.488 kg.
DRI's Operation Golden Sweep at Mumbai airport resulted in the seizure of 10.488 kg of 24-carat foreign-origin gold valued at Rs 12.58 crore.
Explanation
The precise seizure weight was 10.488 kg, not a rounded headline number. The Press Information Bureau release says that, during DRI's Operation Golden Sweep at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai, foreign nationals, airport staffers and other syndicate members were apprehended and 10.488 kg of 24-carat foreign-origin gold was seized, valued at about Rs 12.58 crore. The enforcement significance came from the smuggling method: transit passengers moving via Mumbai concealed gold in egg-shaped wax capsules, handed it to complicit airport staff inside the international departure area, and the staff then moved it out to handlers and receivers.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 8.3 kg is too low; the PIB release records the seizure as 10.488 kg of 24-carat foreign-origin gold.
- (B) 15.7 kg overstates the seizure; the officially reported figure for Operation Golden Sweep is 10.488 kg.
- (C) 5.2 kg is not the reported recovery; DRI's Mumbai airport operation seized 10.488 kg, valued at about Rs 12.58 crore.
Concept
Current-affairs recall around enforcement agencies, smuggling networks and economic security is important for RAS preparation. RAS often links a named operation to the responsible agency, place and measurable outcome.