Customs officials at the Mumbai airport were watching an Etihad Airways passenger whom they suspected of smuggling in gold. What they found instead was that the head of the airlines security was actively involved in the crime.Deepak Golani, head of Etihad’s security for the last 10 years, is the highest-ranking insider arrested for gold smuggling so far. In recent months, 18 insiders – Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) employees and airline staff -- have been arrested for smuggling. Customs sources said it was cause for alarm that the head of security of a leading airline -- who has an all-access pass within the airport and someone who works closely with officials to curb smuggling -- is involved in the racket.They will now interrogate him to find out the extent of the racket and the possible involvement of other staff.The Air Intelligence Unit of Mumbai customs was tracking Etihad Airways flight EY 212 which landed in Mumbai at 8.25 am because the passenger manifest showed that a passenger named Sunil Jagwani was on board. Jagwani had been on the customs’ radar due to his frequent trips between UAE and India. Tuesday was his fourth arrival in the last 14 days.Golani, 54, who works closely with customs officials, grew a little uncomfortable when he got to know that Jagwani was being watched. “When we spotted Jagwani, he was looking at Golani, who was present at the aerobridge. Golani messaged the handlers in Dubai and asked them to warn Jagwani about the customs officials.The handlers then called up Jagwani and asked him to loiter around the airport before handing over the gold,” an official said. AIU officials became sure of a connection between the two. “We noticed that the two made frequent eye contact. Jagwani walked up to Golani and placed cigarette packets on a desk before him and started walking away when we stopped him,” an official said.An examination of the cigarette packets revealed that it contained 1,348 grams of gold barks and biscuits valued at Rs 33.08 lakh. “We have arrested Golani and he will be produced in court on Wednesday,” said Milind Lanjewar, Additional Commissioner of Customs, adding that this was the 18th case this financial year where an airport staffer was arrested.While Jagwani was quick to spill the beans admitting that this was his fourth attempt at smuggling with Golani’s help this month, Golani remained evasive and non-cooperative denying any involvement in smuggling. “CCTV footage however establishes clear interaction between the two. There are also Whatsapp conversations that Golani had with the handlers,” assistant commissioner of customs Kiran Kumar Karlapu said adding that they were in the process of retrieving old CCTV footage as also deleted messages from Golani’s phone.An Etihad spokesperson confirmed Golani’s involvement and said: “Etihad Airways adheres to all international standards for its staff and does not tolerate behaviour that contravenes international or local laws and regulations. The airline will continue to assist the authorities in their investigation of this matter.”Officials said that Golani is the third senior most official of Etihad India. “He lives in a sprawling apartment at Four Bungalows in Andheri and draws a salary of Rs 1.5 lakh a month. He was in a post where he should have been assisting customs and other agencies in anti-smuggling and security operations. However, he was indulging in such large scale smuggling which casts a doubt on the entire security of private agencies/airlines,” commissioner of Mumbai airport customs APS Suri said.Colleagues of Golani said that his arrest had come as a shock to them. Golani’s duty time had ended around 4 am, but he had continued to hover around the airport till the flight carrying Jagwani landed just so that he could smuggle out the gold consignment. “We believe that Golani has been conniving with smugglers since January,” an official said, adding that they believed that Golani was part of a cartel that was pushing drugs and fake currency. A case of drugs seizure from a departing Etihad flight in June will also be probed with Golani’s possible involvement.