Bengaluru customs officials seized 23 iPhones at the city airport Saturday and arrested a person accused of trying to smuggle them into the country. All 23 were the iPhone 14 Pro Max model which was launched in September and cost upwards of ₹1.39 lakh each.
On Sunday, the customs department tweeted, "23 iPhone Pro Max attempted to be smuggled pax arriving from Bangkok seized by officers of Bengaluru Air Customs on October 22."
Customs officials said officers from the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) intercepted the accused - who had ariived from Bangkok on a Thai Airways flight - based on 'behavioral analysis and profiling'. The phones were concealed them inside the hand luggage.
An investigation has been launched, officials said.
The total value of the phones is an estimaed were valued at around ₹34 lakhs. Brand-new iPhones are smuggled into India from abroad and sold at 'discounts' in the country.
Earlier this month too, customs officials at Bengaluru airport caught two people accused of smuggling gold from Dubai. The accused allegedly carried the gold in pant hooks, buttons in baby cloths and even in a cap of a pain relief gel.