Man held at Delhi airport while trying to smuggle out foreign currency

An Indian man was nabbed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) while trying to smuggle out foreign currency valued at ₹15

An Indian man was nabbed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) while trying to smuggle out foreign currency valued at ₹15.5 lakh by concealing it in spice boxes and between papad packets, officials said.

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CISF said the incident was reported around 5am Tuesday, when the passenger, who was bound for Bangkok by a Vistara flight was singled out for thorough checking, based on his suspicious behaviour.

“He was diverted to the random checking point for a thorough checking of his luggage. On checking his baggage through the X-BIS machine, it threw up images of foreign currency concealed in the baggage. Customs officials were informed,” said a CISF official, adding that the passenger was allowed to complete his check-in formalities and was kept under close watch.

After clearing the check-in process and immigration formalities, the passenger was intercepted by the CISF surveillance and intelligence staff and was brought to the departure customs office.

“On thorough checking of his bag, in the presence of custom officials, USD 19,900, valued at approximately ₹15.5 lakh was detected concealed inside spice boxes. Currency was also placed as layers between papads to avoid detection,” said the official, adding that the passenger did not have valid documents to carry such a large amount of foreign currency.

“He and the currency were handed over to the custom officials for further action,” the CISF official said.