Customs recover 27 iPhone 11 from man at Delhi’s IGI airport

According to customs officials, the man was intercepted at Terminal 3 of the Delhi airport, following intelligence inputs.

Customs at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Sunday arrested a 50-year-old man and recovered from him 27 Apple iPhone 11 and 11 Pro phones, which he had brought from Hong Kong to sell them at a higher price in India. Along with the cellphones, officials also recovered 330 replicas of high-end wrist watches from the man, who owns a shop at Gaffar Market.

The iPhone 11 and other items that were recovered from a man at Delhi’s IGI airport. (Sourced)

According to customs officials, the man was intercepted at Terminal 3 of the Delhi airport, following intelligence inputs. He was asked to cooperate for a detailed checking of his handbags and checked-in luggage.

“While checking his handbags, we recovered 27 iPhones and 330 wristwatches. The man said he owns a shop at Gaffar Market in Karol Bagh. He said the iPhone 11 that costs around $700 (around ₹50,000) and iPhone 11 Pro that costs about $1000 ( ₹70,000 approx) in Hong Kong could easily be sold for a profit of ₹25,000 to ₹30,000 in India. He said these phones have been launched recently and are in huge demand in the grey market,” a senior customs officer who chose not to be named, said.

The man told customs officials that the watches he had smuggled are replicas of high-end brands. “These replicas are sold easily for ₹2,500 to ₹5,000, he said,” the officer said.

Officials said the man admitted to have smuggled in electronic items in the past. Additional commissioner customs Amandeep Singh said the man confessed to have smuggled in items worth ₹85 lakh between October 2017 and September 2019. “The total recovery made from him is worth ₹20 lakh. He was arrested, and the recovered valuables seized,” Singh said.