DRI seizes iPhone 13 worth ₹43 crore at Mumbai airport

DRI seized the items, that arrived at Mumbai airport from Hong Kong declaring the goods as memory cards to smuggle them in India

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 3,646 iPhone 13 models worth ₹42.86 crore at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The items arrived from Hong Kong declaring the goods as memory cards to smuggle them in India.

The iPhone 13 had come from Hong Kong at the air cargo complex at Mumbai airport. According to DRI, the price is worth around ₹43 crore (HT Photo)

According to the press release issued by the agency, “The consignments had come from Hong Kong at the air cargo complex at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai. The sender declared the goods as ‘memory cards’ in the import documents but during a physical examination, it was revealed the actual consignment contained iPhones.”

The iPhone 13 models went for sale in India from September 2021 onwards, with a base price of ₹70,000 and some of the higher-end models costing up to ₹1,80,000. Import of mobile phones into India attracts effective Customs Duty of around 44%, said a DRI official. The detection of attempted smuggling of these high-end phones of the latest models in such large numbers shows how quickly the smugglers establish their smuggling networks for the latest products, like iPhone 13. This detection has helped unearth a serious import fraud, reinforcing DRI’s ability to detect and combat unique and sophisticated methods of smuggling, having substantial revenue implications, mentioned in the release.