MUMBAI: Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Customs has arrested a passenger along with foreign currency equivalent to Rs 2.8 million while he was departing for Dubai from city airport on early Thursday. Officials suspects that the arrested carrier is part of gold smuggling syndicate and they are inquiring about other links. The accused told Customs that the money belonged to a Mumbai based jeweller who wanted to send the currency out illegally, to smuggle gold. The Customs officials conducted searches at premises of the jeweller, Girishbhai.
The Customs has officials intercepted the passenger, Sanjay Soni, on suspicion while he was departing for Dubai. They examined his checked in baggage and recovered 3 lakh US Dollars, 2.64 lakh Saudi Arabian Riyal, 2.07 lakh UAE Dirham, 260 Kuwaiti Dinar, 250 Bahrain Dinar, 215 Omani Riyal and 23,000 Qatar Riyal (collectively equivalent to Rs 2.8 millionIndian rupees). He had covered the currency with his clothes and kept it in a trolley bag. During interrogation Soni told officials that one Girishbhai had given him the money and told him to handover it to his contact in Dubai.
While explaining the modus-operandi, an official explain, jewellers smuggle gold in the country and make payment through hawala channels. Some time they enters into nexus with hawala operators, who imports goods in the country that attracts less duty after overpricing it. Then they send the money (goods payment) through legal channel. Another modus-operandi they adopts to send money through carries, like Soni. Officials stated that jewellers involved in gold smuggling has their counterparts in Dubai who collects cash and arranges gold in exchange. In another instance, the Customs booked Durga Purohit while she was departing for Dubai along with foreign currency worth Rs 13 lakh.
