Rs 15 crore foreign currency seized, 4 held at Mumbai airport

MUMBAI: In a major breakthrough, the customs department’s Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) has busted a foreign currency smuggling racket and seized currency valued around Rs 15 crore. Officials said this is one of the biggest seizures of foreign currency in the city in recent years and suspect the money could be meant to finance drugs, gold smuggling or be part of a hawala racket abroad.

This could be just a tip of the iceberg, said officials, while pointing to the lack of a screening machine at the customs counter in the departure area of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

Customs sources said the AIU team had been receiving intelligence that a big syndicate is actively involved in smuggling foreign currency on a regular basis. Based on specific intelligence and profiling of passengers, the AIU on Tuesday morning intercepted four passengers who were about to board an international flight. Officials detained the four, including a Sudanese woman, from whom they recovered US dollars valued around Rs 9 crore. “They failed to explain the source of so much foreign currency and were detained under provisions of the Customs Act. They will be produced before the concerned court on Wednesday,” said an officer.

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