DRI seizes foreign currency worth Rs 3 crores at Mumbai airport, two arrested

US dollars and Saudi Dirhams worth Rs 3.7 crores were recovered from the two accused.

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Friday (November 26, 2021) said it has seized foreign currency worth Rs 3 crore from two accused at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The accused have been taken into custody.

The raid was conducted under Operation Cheque Shirts, using data analytics, said the agency.

The DRI developed specific intelligence on two passengers, who were attempting to smuggle foreign currency outside India. US dollars and Saudi Dirhams worth Rs 3.7 crores were recovered from them on further examination.

As per the central agency, the foreign currency was found concealed deep in ingeniously designed false bottoms of the carry-on luggage and the way it was hidden would have made the detection difficult in ordinary baggage scans.

The DRI revealed that since the two accused had no documents for the licit possession or for legal export of the said foreign currency, it has been seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962.  

The matter is under investigation.