New Delhi: A 35-year-old man was arrested at
the IGI airport here for allegedly attempting to smuggle
Indian currency worth Rs 17.50 lakh to Dhaka by air, a senior
Customs official said on Monday.
The arrest at the airport on Saturday came after Customs
officials received an intelligence input about smuggling of
currency. The man has been identified as Mohd Hafeez Abbas.
Customs officials first intercepted Abbas and Fardeen
Ansari (32), who were to board a flight to Dhaka on Saturday
evening. They had cleared the security check and were to board
the aircraft when they were intercepted.
During searches, five lakh worth Bangladeshi Taka was
recovered from Abbas` hand bag while another 4.5 lakh Taka was
seized from Ansari.
Customs officials then got their checked-in baggage
searched. "We found Rs 17.5 lakh in Indian currency and 11.5
lakh in Taka from Abbas` baggage.
"Interestingly, 30 kg of khoya, a milk product used in
making sweets, was used to conceal the currency. Besides,
voice recorders and anabolic steroids used for sports prowess
enhancement were also recovered," Additional Commissioner of
Customs (IGI) Ashutosh Baranwal said in a statement.
During interrogation, he said, Abbas owned up the foreign
currency found in the hand baggage of Ansari. Abbas was then
placed under arrest while Ansari was let off.
Abbas was arrested for smuggling Indian currency to a
foreign land. According to law, Indians going abroad are
allowed to take with them Indian currency not exceeding Rs
7,500.
As per export of currency norms, Indians going abroad
are permitted to take with them foreign currency without any
limit provided they have procured it from an authorised
foreign exchange dealer.
PTI
